Saving Syaoran
by Agent08
Summary: COMPLETE. Syaoran Li was a man of missions. He could perform any task given to him without difficulty. That is, until he was forced to overcome his biggest challenge yet. Sakura Kinomoto and his feelings for her. SyaoranxSakura.
1. The Beginning

**Agent08 Reporting for Duty!**

Disclaimer: I do not own CCS or any of the characters, just the plot.

Now on with the prologue!

**Saving Syaoran **

_The Beginning_

Allow me to introduce to you one of the main characters of this complicated story...

Sakura Kinomoto.

How would one describe her? Well, that's certainly a no-brainer! Sakura Kinomoto was probably the nicest girl you would ever meet. Not to mention the most immature, childish, carefree senior attending Seiju High. Although most would find her extremely friendly attitude and immaturity quite disturbing at first, you couldn't help but admit that that's what made her so darn loveable. The option of hating her was just not one to be chosen.

But hey, just because nobody hated her, doesn't mean that nobody wanted to. There were numerous amounts of girls at Seiju High that would've just liked to take her by the neck and wring her to death. Why is that, some would ask. Well, I'm not quite so sure myself, actually. There are certain things to choose from:

1) Her shiny auburn bangs which framed her face so beautifully that it took the attention of many guys at the school.

2) Her fair, pale skin which helped the colour in her eyes stand out more. (Continue reading.)

3) Her eyes, of course. No one else in their grade, in the whole entire world, in fact, could've possibly had a pair of emerald green eyes as enchanting as hers.

The list goes on, but frankly, I'm too lazy to describe all of Sakura Kinomoto's positives. But getting back on track: jealousy. Some girls loathed her to a point of glaring daggers at her whenever she happened to cross them in the hallway. But she was always armed with that damned friendly smile of hers, which could abolish their hatred for her in just a split second.

You might say that Sakura Kinomoto was perfect. But trust me, she certainly was not.

And don't get me wrong, she had some bad things about her, too.

Like the fact that she never seemed capable of getting to class early. It was a daily part of senior life to see a panting Sakura, apologizing her pretty little butt off for being late. But she never was. She always just made it in the nick of time. I guess you could say that Lady Luck seemed to favour her.

And then there's also the fact that she was scared out of her pants by ghosts. Just a single flee's whisper of the ugly G-word and you'd have her in a bloody panic, covering her ears and going, "Lalalalalala!" like it was nobody's business. Not to mention her fear of thunder. Yeah, she was a Class A Scaredy-Cat.

And then probably the most negative thing there was about her - she just couldn't seem to take care of herself. Literally.

She could be walking on a perfectly flat surface with no bumps or anything and fall flat on her ass. She could be rollerblading to school, one of the things she was most definitely skilled at, and fall on her face while turning a corner that she's turned only a million times before. Yep, that's right, Sakura was a down right klutz.

It was no wonder why her older brother was so over protective of her, rescuing her when she needed to be, always watching her but never making it known. Touya Kinomoto was not known to be a softy. So he kept his love for his younger sister hidden by his consistent teasing. It was all worth it, because he just loved ticking her off. Even if his foot would always get stomped on every now and then...

But Touya could not always be there for Sakura. He went to a university in America, leaving Sakura by herself with her dad, just as she entered her first year at Seiju High. Sure, she missed him, but she was finally free from his ever disturbing gaze.

So, I guess if you were looking for the right words to best describe Sakura Kinomoto, I'd say...

_Just Your Averge Lois Lane._

She was talented, smart (most of the time), witty, and an overall great girl. But she always needed that certain somebody to rescue her in her times of need. And the only Superman she'd ever known, her own big brother, had flown away from her.

But just like every other Lois Lane, she thinks she's better off without. Like she's perfectly capable of taking care of herself. When really, we all know that isn't true.

Or is it?

What is something about Sakura Kinomoto that most people did not know?

She had magical powers. And I don't mean the kind of magic where you twirl some stupid wand and say, "Abrakadabra!" I'm talking about the real thing. The only person who knew of this besides her best friend, Tomoyo Daidouji, the amethyst eyed beauty, was a tiny yellow thing which oddly resembled a plush toy...

Oh yeah, and me.

It all began in her first year of highschool when Touya had left. She opened what Kero, the tiny yellow thing I was telling you about, told her was the Clow Book. She hadn't realized she'd set all the Clow Cards loose, giving her the automatic responsibility of gaining them back and then passing the final judgement and then inevitably becoming their mistress. Yep. That all happened within the span of two years.

And yeah, you would think that because of her magical powers, she'd have at least _some_ control of her klutziness, but she had none whatsoever. Like they always say, some things may change, but some other things just somehow remain the same.

So basically, even though Sakura was a powerful Card Mistress behind (mostly) everybody's back, fighting off all the strange occurences which happened in her town of Tomoeda, she was still just your average Lois Lane. And even if that seems unbelievable to you...

One thing was for sure. Sakura was in dire need of a new Superman.

_**xxxxxx**_

This brings me to our next main character. Syaoran Li.

Tall, dark, handsome.

Notice something funny about my choice of words? _Tall, dark, handsome?_ Oh, please! How monotonous, dull, _boring!_ Kind of like a stone. Which, I'm sorry to say, folks, was exactly what Syaoran Li was. A stone being. He smiled, only, _never_, and the occasional rude smirk was the only thing seen to ever grace his lips.

Honestly! You'd think someone as good looking as him would have _some_ feelings! Really. His chocolate brown locks were just begging to be combed, but somehow that made him even more attractive than he already was. And the fact that he had a perfectly toned and chiseled chest only gave him a higher rating on the Drool Scale. (1, being totally not drool worthy, and 10, being drooling buckets. Syaoran Li, I'd have to say, was an 11.)

And you want to know what else is hotter?

The fact that he was _rich_.

Okay, alright, I know that must've sounded really shallow of me, but even _you_ have to admit it! The fact that he had more money than Einstein could calculate was a total turn on! And duh, I'm exaggerating of course, when I say Einstein can't calculate the amount of money he had...but I'm just trying to prove a point here, people. Syaoran Li was filthy rich!

Being the future leader of the Li Clan obviously came with it's advantages.

Disadvantages too, though.

Like how he had to train so furiously from dusk 'til dawn since he was able to properly punch. This, _madames et monsieurs_, would explain why he is so darn rude, sarcastic, and cold.

Just to get things straight, Syaoran Li was able to properly punch at the age of six. That, meaning he's been training since, I don't know, _forever?_ And if you don't know, allow me to define training according to his terms: suffering. Those training sessions of his were filled with nothing but martial arts lessons, fencing lessons, boxing lessons, all the essential stuff that a hardcore Jackie Chan would know, or whatever.

But Jackie Chan never knew magic, did he?

Oh, yes indeed, folks, Syaoran Li had his very own type of magical powers also! It was something he was expected to have by the elders of the Li Clan, because after all, he was their future leader. Every leader of the Li Clan had at least some magical powers...but to say that Syaoran only had _some_ magical powers would be an understatement. He had more than just some. He had _a lot_.

Did I forget to mention that all members of the Li Clan were direct descendants of Clow Reed himself? The very same man that created the Clow Cards, which Sakura was now the master of?

Oh, I _did_ forget to mention that!

Yeah, well, now you know.

He was home schooled to boot, too. The only friend he ever had growing up was his cousin, Meiling Li. And trust me, at times, she wasn't exactly the greatest friend to have.

Honestly, how much more of a social outcast could he have been?

To answer your question, not that much. Why? Because he was sent to attend Seiju High for senior year.

...Because _why?_ Oh geez, do I have to explain _everything?_

Isn't it obvious yet? The Li Clan obviously found out about _somebody_ (they don't know who) gaining control over the Clow Cards. And didn't I say that all of them are direct descendants of Clow Reed _himself?_ They evidently believe that whoever was their new master was not worthy! Not unless it was someone from the Li Clan.

And who else would they _demand_ to have as the master of the Clow Cards?

No one other than Syaoran Li, of course!

Get it now? Sheesh.

_**xxxxxx**_

Oh, yeah! Who am I? Oh, no one important, really...I guess you could call me "The Narrator" of this whole complicated story. Or..."The Witness." Yeah, The Witness! "The Witness" sounds much more cooler.

But before I get off topic about how cool my new nickname sounds, I'll tell you the reason behind it.

I was fortunate enough to witness the last year of highschool that these two main characters spent together. How it went from good, to great, to bad, to great all over again. Or was it good, to bad, to good, to bad, _then_ to great? Oh, I don't know. You guys can probably figure it out yourselves as soon as things start getting interesting...

All I can say for now is just to ignore me. I'm just the witness. And if you keep on reading, maybe you'll have the fortune of being one, too?

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**A new story, wow. I'm trying a new style of writing. Critique me, I dare you :).**

Signing Off,  
Agent08 - _My life as a secret agent _xD


	2. The First Meeting

**Agent08 Reporting for Duty!**

Now on with chapter two!

**Saving Syaoran **

_The First Meeting_

Came back, did you? Oh well, I can't blame you! The moment that our two main characters met, I was hooked. I don't know what it was, but it was like you knew that something was going to happen with them. It was like, well, magic! Call me cheesy if you must, but I'm not even lying. Magic is what brought these two together in the first place.

It was on a perfectly normal day when our story begins. Well, normal enough for Syaoran. He was in the middle of his martial arts lesson when the elders of the Li Clan came to call. His mother, Yelan, was watching intently on the sidelines, kept within the shade of the terrace. She usually did this when her son was training.

It was a sudden change in their surroundings which got them to notice the calling of the elders. The elders were highly trained in magic, and had much more of it than Syaoran could ever imagine. How they summoned him that day, I do not know, but it clearly got both Syaoran's and Yelan's attention.

Syaoran had just blocked the oncoming fist of his antagonist when his head suddenly turned to the direction of his mother. Her eyes, like always, were neutral, but she too knew that they were needed. So on behalf of her request, Syaoran's training was cut short for the day and they immediately made their way to the elder's headquarters.

Neither Syaoran or his mother knew why they were being called. Could it have been important? Of course it was! The elders wouldn't just request their presence for some stupid reason. Whatever they needed from them was something big, he could tell. But what? Well, I feel like being a party pooper and keep you guys in suspense. But don't worry, not for long.

As their limosine (yeah! I know! Limosine!) parked in front of the elder's headquarters, which was a pure white building with two large white pillars standing sturdy before them, both Yelan and Syaoran entered. Although it was a perfectly sunny day outside, the inside of the HQ was dimly lit, a spotlight in the middle of the room the only good source of lighting.

Syaoran was nervous, he'll admit that. But honestly, he was Syaoran Li! Would he really let them see how he was just dying to show just a little bit of fear? Would he _really_ let them know that he just wanted to go under his bed covers and scream like a baby instead of meet with them? Heck no! He had to be brave, and really, most of the time he was. But the elders had this kind of effect on people.

As Syaoran took his spot in the spotlight, he could clearly see all twelve of the Li Clan elders, sitting before him in their normal attire - black cloaks with the hood pulled over their faces, shadowing their facial features. He wanted to shiver. Most people would compare them to Death, you know, that same hooded character in the black cloak? All they really needed was a scythe and they were all set.

But getting back to the point.

He searched the area for his mother. Darn. She had hid away into the confines of the darkness. He was left to speak with them alone, because apparently, they needed _him_, and not his mom. He scowled in the darkness. His mom always lucked out.

This is where I stop being a party pooper, and you guys find out what this whole meeting with the elders is about.

The elder who was seated in the middle behind the long table cleared his throat and stood up. He barely lifted his head. "Xiao-Lang," he began, calling Syaoran by his Chinese name. Syaoran did not make it known that he had heard. Besides, it was impossible _not_ to hear. The place was freaking dead silent. "Do you know why you are here?"

Obviously not. "No, sir."

The elder to the left of the one in the middle then stood. "Allow me to explain our situation, Xiao-Lang." He brought his bony hands together and interlaced his fingers. "It has come to our attention that the magical Book of Clow has been opened. Do you know what that is, Xiao-Lang?" He asked.

He shook his head. "No, sir."

The elder continued, "The Clow Book, created by our ancestor, Clow Reed himself, contains fifty two magical cards, each having their own type of ability. They were all under his control until the day he died, and before his death he made sure to seal them away into the book. But it has been opened."

So _that_ was why they called him. "You want me to collect them, sir?"

Another elder stood up. "We would have liked you to if we had known this earlier. We believe that if there is anybody fit enough to collect and become the master of those cards, it is you, Xiao-Lang." Syaoran felt both confused and flattered. "But they have already been collected. That, meaning they have a new master. Who is not you."

"We find this matter disturbing, Xiao-Lang." He continued, "According to our knowledge, this new master of theirs is not related to Clow Reed or any other historical magical figure. It is an outrage!" He claimed. "Clow Reed is our ancestor, Xiao-Lang. Not theirs. Those cards do not belong to some average person that has no magical background. They belong to you."

Syaoran merely shrugged his shoulders, not knowing what to say. "I agree, sir, but this is out of my hands. If they've already been collected, what are we supposed to do?"

The middle elder then took over. Syaoran could sense the smirk beneath his hood. "Not we, Xiao-Lang. You." He raised an eyebrow. "You are to gain control of those cards no matter what, do you understand? No matter how long it takes, do whatever you have to do. But we want those cards in your possession. Are we clear?"

Syaoran nodded. "Yes sir, very clear. But how?"

"Be at rest, Xiao-Lang. We have come up with a plan." He waited. "It is also within our knowledge that this new master of theirs is your age, attending high school in Japan still. We understand that this must mean they have quite a lot of magical powers as you do, but that is not stopping us. We are sending you to Japan to attend school with them, to find out who they are."

"Wait," Syaoran said, "we don't even know who the master is yet?"

"No, we do not, Xiao-Lang. And do not interrupt." The elder scolded. "So we are making it your job to find out who, along with the job of winning the cards."

He understood now. "Yes, sir. I will do just that. These cards will be mine before you know it."

"We are glad to hear it." The elder stated, "But we are in no rush, Xiao-Lang. Time doesn't matter to us, as long as you have the cards. So seeing as how you have all the time in the world, we think it is best you do not do anything drastic too soon. Once you find out exactly who their master is, we want you to get to know them, spend time with them. Because, Xiao-Lang, if you come to know your opponent, the key to their defeat will be in your hands."

The elder's eyes searched for someone behind him. "Yelan," he called. Syaoran's mother stepped out from the shadows. "Do you understand what his instructions are?" He asked. She nodded. "Good. Your move to Japan will be in three days. Get packing quickly. And do not get distracted. We are counting on you, Xiao-Lang."

So, yeah. Basically, this was his mission: discover who the master of the Clow Cards was and challenge them for the ownership. And we all know who their master just so happens to be, don't we?

Things getting interesting yet?

**_xxxxxx_**

_Three days later..._

It was just your average day at the Kinomoto household. Fujitaka, Sakura's dad, was up bright and early, already preparing breakfast for his daughter. Sakura, on the other hand, was sleeping like a log in her room, despite the fact that it was only thirty minutes until school started, _and_ that her alarm clock had been ringing for the past thirty minutes, also.

That same, tiny, yellow, plush toy looking thing flew from out of her desk drawer. It punched her pink alarm clock savagely and the ringing suddenly stopped. He flew over to Sakura who was in a heap underneath her blankets and took a large breath. He let out a nice, long scream, loud enough for her to fall out of bed.

She landed with a big thud on her butt. "Ow!" She screeched, rubbing at her now probably bruised butt feverishly. She swiped at the yellow thing furiously. "Kero-chan!" Yes, that would be the Guardian of the Clow Book in his disguised form. He smirked maliciously and flew out of her grasp.

"Look at the clock, Sakura!" He said.

Groaning, she reached for the pink alarm clock. Her eyes automatically widened. "_Hoooeeeeeee!_"

Her father laughed from the kitchen beneath her.

"Kero-chan! Why didn't you wake me sooner? Hoe! I'm going to be late!"

See, I told you. Just another average day in the Kinomoto household.

Quickly, Sakura broke into a sprint for the bathroom and brushed her teeth. She made it back to her bedroom, threw off her clothes and pulled on her uniform. She brushed and did her hair, grabbed her backpack, patted Kero on the head, and tumbled down the stairs. Waved good morning to her dad, forced her breakfast down her throat, put on her rollerblades and then waved goodbye, all in world record timing.

She should've gotten in award. She did that _every_ morning.

She sped past everybody, excusing herself every now and then. She saw the school gates up ahead and increased her speed. Had the final bell already rung? She didn't have time to think about it. Once she'd made it into the school she put on her regular shoes and sprinted to class. She slid open the classroom door and shrieked, "SORRY I'M LATE!"

A few people snickered, others rolled their eyes. Panting, Sakura lifted up her head to be greeted by her best friend who was already walking towards her. "You just made it again, Sakura-chan." She sighed and allowed herself to be dragged to her regular seat in homeroom. She buried her head inside her arms.

"Kero-chan not wake you in time again?" She asked.

"Ne, Tomoyo-chan, you know me too well." Sakura said sheepishly.

The two were joined by another classmate. A girl with her brown hair in pig tails giggled at Sakura. "Sakura-chan, we're seniors now! When will you ever learn?" She asked retorically. Sakura smiled sheepishly once more, her cheeks getting just a little pink.

"I don't think I ever will, Chihahru-chan." She answered.

She giggled again. They were then joined by a boy, his eyes shut tight. His black hair was combed back, and a smile was upon his face just like normal. "Hey, guys." He greeted.

"Hi, Yamazaki-kun." Sakura said. He, of course, was Chihahru's boyfriend. That's how he was known in school. Besides the world's biggest liar, of course. There was never a day at school where Takashi Yamazaki had never told a single lie. No one ever fell for it, excluding Sakura, because everybody knew how gullible she was. It ticked his girlfriend off like hell, though. Everybody wondered how she put up with it.

"Guess what, you guys?" He asked. They waited for him to continue. "We're going to have a new kid in class today."

Chihahru sighed with frustration. "Yamazaki-kun, if this is another one of your tall tales, I swear, this time I really am going to strangle you!"

"I'm not lying!" He defended, as both Tomoyo and Sakura let out a laugh. "I overheard Terada-sensei talking about it this morning to a secretary when I was passing by the office. I didn't hear whether or not it was a boy or girl, but we're definitely getting one." He was nodding his head, something he usually did when trying to get people to believe him.

The classroom door suddenly slid open. "Alright, everybody, get to your seats. Chop, chop, we haven't got all day!" The teacher spoke. He walked over to the podium situated at the front of the class and set his briefcase down as students began hurrying over to their desks.

"Morning, everybody." The teacher greeted. Everybody answered with a "good morning," of their own. "I've got a treat for you all today. A new student!" Sakura's eyes traveled towards Yamazaki, just as he turned to his girlfriend and smirked. "His name is Syaoran Li, and he is a transfer student from Hong Kong, China. Come on in!" He added at the end, beckoning for someone outside of the classroom to come inside.

In came Syaoran Li himself, fully dressed in his school uniform, which, might I add, never looked hotter.

He walked in confident strides, right up beside the podium and bowed down low, without a single word. Sakura heard a large in take of breath. Curiously, she twisted her head around the classroom to see what was going on. The majority of the girl population in the room had big, round eyes, their pupil's the shape of hearts. She raised an eyebrow. What was the big deal?

Well, she wasn't blind. She had to admit, this new kid of theirs was _quite_ handsome...

Well...a lot more than quite.

She shrugged. Okay, so what if he was extremely good looking, right? No big deal. She knew lots of good looking boys, so what made him so different from the rest of them? Maybe, she thought, just maybe it was the way he couldn't seem to stop looking around the classroom, as if looking for somebody. Or maybe it was the way that he was glaring. Not really at anybody in particular, just...glaring.

"So, Li-san, why don't you take a seat behind Kinomoto-san?" She suddenly heard. Snapping out of her reverie, she put on a smile, just as he was walking by. He obviously knew who the teacher was talking about, because, after all, the seat behind Sakura was the only one available for him to sit.

Slowly, he turned his head to wear the teacher was pointing. He remained solemn as his amber eyes made contact with her emerald ones. He didn't even bother smiling back at her, or making any nice gesture back at her. She put on a questioning look and directed it towards Tomoyo, who had been watching the whole thing. She shrugged, not knowing why the new kid was acting like that, either.

"Alright class, I'll be back in a few minutes," Terada-sensei said. "I'll just be making a few more photocopies of the field trip permission form. Don't get too loud, okay?"

And the minute he stepped out of the classroom, everybody did the exact opposite of what he said.

Everybody was talking to somebody. Whether they were just beside them or across the classroom. Yep, pretty much everybody was making a racket. Except for Syaoran, who was still glaring out the window beside him.

Turning around, Sakura smiled. "Hi, Li-kun."

His head turned about a fraction of an inch towards her, his eyes resting on her face for only about a second, and that was it. As if he hadn't done anything at all, he continued staring out the window, his attention completely focused on something else. In just the short amount of time he stared at her, you never would've guessed that he'd stereo-typed her as the 'Girl Next Door.'

Sakura turned to her best friend once more, knowing that she was still watching. Tomoyo shrugged once more. So Sakura tried again. "Um...morning, Li-kun. I'm Sakura Kinomoto."

This time he didn't do anything to make it known that he'd heard her.

Then, out of the blue, Sakura started laughing. Syaoran turned his head fully this time, so that he was staring at her straight on, with a skeptical look on his face. He watched as the annoying girl in front of him continued laughing for a reason he did not yet know of. She smiled apologetically after she'd finally stopped.

"I'm so sorry, Li-kun. Do you understand what I'm saying? I forgot that you were from China..."

He rolled his eyes and turned to continue glaring out the window. Did the Girl Next Door type of character normally act that stupid? "I can understand what you're saying." He mumbled.

Sakura's faced turned red. "Hoe..."

The new kid was going to be harder to become friends with than she thought.

**_xxxxxx_**

Alright, alright. So I admit, things aren't _that_ interesting yet. But I mean, come on, give me a break. I can only witness so much! Besides, it was only homeroom. I still have the rest of their day to narrate! So just bear with me, will you? Patience is a virtue, fellow readers.

And if I don't seem all that wacky, then maybe you'll be able to trust me when I say that things DO start getting interesting from here on out. Like I said, folks. Bear with me!

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**Ah, first meeting. Tell me what ya think:)**

Signing Off,  
Agent08 - _My life as a secret agent _xD


	3. The Rescue

**Agent08 Reporting for Duty!**

Now on with chapter three!

**Saving Syaoran **

_The Rescue_

Syaoran was glad that the girl in front of him got the message. He wasn't in the mood to talk. Just standing at the front of the classroom he could automatically sense a type of strong magical powers, but could not find out from who. At lunch break, or free period or whatever it was his new classmates called it, he would try to put a face on the unknown master.

Homeroom ended just five minutes later. He was last to leave the classroom because the teacher needed to talk to him about his schedule. He nodded in that really hot way of his and waited while all the students began filing out to go to their first class of the day. As they all walked passed, he did not fail to notice the desperately flirty smiles that came his way from more than half of the girls in class.

Ugh. Fan girls. He _hated_ them.

Then the girl that sat in front of him, the one named Sakura Kinomoto - the one he labelled as "The Girl Next Door," walked by. He turned his head, to avoid the same flirtacious grin that he thought she was going to give him, but she'd beat him to it. But instead of the normal fan girl grin, she gave him a friendly one. One that certainly did not contain any flirty manners whatsoever.

What a really weird girl, he thought.

And it's not like many of us could disagree with him, could we? Sakura _was_ pretty weird...

I'm _not_ being mean! I'm just telling the truth. Sheesh.

"So, Li-san," the teacher began once mostly all the students had left. One boy remained. "I've got your schedule right here, given to me by the principal." Syaoran nodded and took it from him. "We've just added a new wing to the school, and many of your classes are in there but because it was just recently built, they're not numbered."

He gestured with his index finger for the boy who stayed to come forward. Syaoran studied him. His hair was black, and he would've tried to sneak a peek at his eyes, whatever colour they were, but they were completely shut. "This is Takashi Yamazaki." Terada-sensei introduced, "He has volounteered to take you to all your classes and show you around campus, which should work out well because you have lots of classes together."

"Hey," the boy said. "just call me Yamazaki-kun."

Syaoran let out a sigh as if he'd been thoroughly annoyed. "Hi." He managed to grumble.

Geez, what a grouch.

"Yamazaki-san, please take Li-san to his locker." Terada-sensei requested, showing them out the door. With an obedient nod and bow to him, they both left, walking together down the no longer crowded halls. Most people were probably already attending their next class.

"Can I see your schedule? Your locker number should be printed on there along with your classes." Yamazaki said. Without a word, Syaoran handed it to him, following wherever his student guide lead. Examining it for just a second, he gave it back. "Locker number 262. That's right this way, on your left." He gestured down another empty hall.

Syaoran began searching the lockers. 258, 259, 260...

"You know, something about lockers..." Yamazaki said. Syaoran stopped and turned to him. "did you know that they were first used back in Ancient Egypt?" He raised an eyebrow at him. "Yeah. It was in Ancient Egypt when the pharoah had made for him the brightest and most beautiful piece of jewelry of all. And he didn't want it stolen. So he got one of his people to make him what we now call lockers."

He raised his eyebrow. The guy was smiling really widely and nodding his head like a bobble toy. It creeped him out. Not only that, it made him not fall for it either. "Okay." Syaoran replied skeptically. He stopped once he'd found Locker 262. "You don't honestly expect me to believe that crap, do you?"

Yamazaki didn't even look hurt. Instead, his smile remained in place, still brighter and weirder than ever. "Hm," he said, as Syaoran did the combination which was also written on the piece of paper and stuffed some books inside from his backpack. First period was english. He was going to need his textbook. "You don't believe me either, huh?" Yamazaki asked. He started walking once Syaoran got all of his stuff into the direction of their first class. "Nobody ever does. Besides Kinomoto-san."

Syaoran snorted. That weird girl he sat behind in homeroom? Figures. The Girl Next Door type was normally gullible.

Yamazaki stopped walking. "Something funny?" He asked curiously. Syaoran shook his head and insisted that they keep walking.

"You know something about snorts..." he began again. With his eyes still shut tight, Syaoran was free to roll his eyes without hurting his feelings - you know, not that he cared. It's just that he had better things to do than be apologizing to anybody. Like trying to find the source of magic he'd sensed at the front of the classroom. That was the very first thing on his "Must Do" list.

He also had better things to do than listen to tall tales made up by some idiotically smiling moron. "You know," he began, cutting Yamazaki off just as he was about to tell the long story about how a snort was first made by accident, "I'm sure I can find these classes by myself. It's not like I'm directionally challenged or whatever." He said.

"Nah," Yamazaki replied, stopping in front of the english classroom, "you give me an excuse to be late."

He finished his sentence off with his freakiest smile yet, and opened the door for him to enter through. Syaoran scowled at him, but his rude face went unseen as of course, his student guide's eyes were completely closed.

He stepped through the door and walked up to the teacher, Yamazaki following along behind him. "Mitaya-sensei, sorry for being late, but I was showing the new kid, Li-kun, his locker and this classroom." He quickly hurried over to his seat, not waiting for the teacher to reply. After all, he couldn't get into any trouble for showing the new kid around.

"New kid?" Mitaya-sensei echoed. She took off her glasses, her brunette bangs falling over her eyes as she looked Syaoran up and down. "Ah, I see. Well, Li-san, welcome to your english class. Find yourself a seat so I can continue on with our lesson." Syaoran nodded, walking over to, once again, the only available seat inside the room beside a boy with glasses. He smiled warmly at him.

My God. What was it with guys at Seiju High and smiling?

He raised his eyebrows, a little creeped out by the fact that the guys went just a little too far over board when it came to showing their pearly whites, and turned his head the other way. His eyes then landed upon a pair which seemed all too familiar to him. A sudden sparkle twinkled from within them, showing an emotion which he knew must've been happiness.

It was _her's_. That girl's. _Her_ eyes. That Sakura Kinomoto girl.

Why in the hell would she be happy to see him?

Fan girl! He _knew_ it!

She mouthed a "hi" to him and waved. He raised an eyebrow in reply but she did not seem bothered by his lack of enthusiasm towards her. Did anything ever upset this girl?

The teacher droned on and on the entire class, pointing things out that he already knew. He took few notes down, knowing that he was probably ahead of everybody in the entire class. So instead, he focused his attention on trying to pin point the source of magical energy. But of course, with no such luck. He never really got that far with magic when others were around.

So first period ended and just as he expected, Yamazaki came with him to his locker and brought him to his next class. It was easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy, just like his first class, and without Sakura, _un_like his first class. He knew the rest would be a breeze as well, except for Japanese class.

Then finally, lunch break arrived.

Surprisingly enough, Yamazaki came to spend his break time with him, too. Syaoran was annoyed as hell now. He had _things_ to do. And he needed to use his time wisely. But that hope he had went swirling down the drain when Yamazaki leeched onto him and refused to get off. And to add to this, there was the, yes, say it with me...

The fan girlies!

The stampede of flirtatious girls began when he exited out of the school building and into the courtyard. He took a seat on a stone table, where Yamazaki joined him with his own lunch. "What are you doing here?" Syaoran asked, annoyed.

"I'm going to eat lunch with you, duh." Yamazaki replied. "Don't want the new kid by himself on his first day!" He added cheerfully. "Do you by any chance want to eat with me and my friends?"

"No." He replied flatly, hoping he sensed the annoyed vibe he was trying to send.

Yamazaki shrugged. "Okay then. We'll just stay here."

He groaned. He obviously didn't get the message.

Then, it started. One girl came bounding over, plomping herself onto the other side of Syaoran. He looked at her and her pathetic attempt at a sexy grin. "Hi there, Syaoran-kun." The girl tossed her greasy black hair over her shoulder and slid closer to him, obviously hoping to show that she was more than available to him.

"Li." He corrected her, scooting over towards Yamazaki who was smiling amusedly.

She pouted.

The another came.

"Hi, Li-kun!" Another girl greeted, squeezing in between him and Yamazaki. She batted her eyelashes at him in a childish manner. "How's it going?"

"Do you mind?" He asked harshly to both girls. "I'm a little squished."

Neither payed any attention to his request because of the fact that they were joined by about a dozen more girls in less than five minutes. They were all pushing and shoving, fighting for the chance just to sit next to him or grab his attention somehow. But his attention was focused on trying to _breathe_. They were suffocating him with the lack of personal space he was being given.

Syaoran surfaced from the massive amount of girls now ready to pounce on one another. Grabbing his lunch he lunged for Yamazaki who was now laughing quite hard on the far end of the stone table. "Do you by any chance want to eat with me and my friends?" He asked again, still laughing.

"Hell yes!" Syaoran answered, as he sprinted away from the psychotic fan girls.

**_xxxxxx_**

Yamazaki brought Syaoran over to a cherry blossom tree which was planted far off into the school field. A group of girls and one boy, the one he'd been sitting next to in first period were the only ones he could see. "Hey." Yamzaki greeted, taking a seat beside one girl and kissing her cheek. "You guys know Li-kun, right? He was introduced in our homeroom. Eriol-kun, he was in our english class."

He scanned all the people's faces and Yamazaki was right. All of them he already knew. Well not really knew, but knew of. He'd seen them all at one point in the day. One of them, he was annoyed to see, was Sakura.

Yamazaki then placed his arm around the girl's shoulders. "This is my girlfriend, Chihahru." He introduced. Syaoran nodded. He then began pointing to everybody else. "That's Rika Sasaki-san, over there," he pointed to a girl with short, wavy, mahogony hair. "That's Tomoyo Daidouji-san." Tomoyo, he'd noticed earlier that day, sat next to Sakura in homeroom. She waved to him, chopsticks still in hand. "Eriol-kun." The blue-haired boy. "And Sakura Kinomoto-san. You know her, don't you?"

She waved at him again, this time more friendlier than ever. He nodded, turning away. "Yeah. I do."

"Great!" The girl named Tomoyo chimed, dropping her lunch. "Now that we're all introduced...how do you like it here so far, Li-kun?" She asked.

He shrugged. "It's okay, I guess." He then began turning around and around, searching for a certain spot he could possibly go to, to try and use his own magic to find the unknown master. There were tons of cherry blossom trees everywhere. Maybe he could just sneak off and go behind one and...

"You guess? It's really not that bad here, is it?"

Damnit! Couldn't a guy get some peace and quiet around this place?

"Eh..." he replied, still searching for that one secluded area...

"So, Li-kun - "

God _damnit!_ "Could you guys excuse me for a sec?" He asked quickly, scrambling up from his spot on the grass. Yamazaki asked where he was going. "Somewhere." He replied, and then sprinted off to the furthest cherry blossom tree he could find. He leaned against the trunk, glad that he was finally freed from his classmate's annoying clutches.

He then slowed his breathing, his chest rising and falling with each breath he took. He certainly picked a good spot to meditate. The voices of his classmates were now no longer reaching his ears. The only thing he could hear now was the steady beating of his heart. Tha-bump. Tha-bump. Tha-bump.

And then, it was like a strong wind had picked up from around him, when there really was none. There was only just a dull breeze, but he could hear it much stronger now, as it howled into his ear drums, making what he was doing much more intense than he had intended it to be. He closed his eyes, his energy finally zeroing in on the source of magic that he was now so close to identifying...

Instead of seeing the image of the master of the Clow Cards in his mind and feeling their aura, which was what was supposed to happen, the strong wind was replaced with a loud scream. A woman's scream. His eyes snapped open, all previous noise vanishing. He could no longer hear his heartbeat or the wind. But the screaming remained. But it grew faint.

Not wasting a single moment, he ran back into the direction of his classmates. Rika, Yamazaki, Chihahru, Eriol and Tomoyo were all standing, staring above them into the tree. But where was Sakura?

"What's going on?" He asked urgently. He walked over beside Eriol. "What's happening?"

"Sakura-chan!" Tomoyo called frantically, "Hold on! Grab onto something!"

"What happened?" Syaoran asked again. Eriol turned to him, one eye still glued onto Sakura. His words came out quickly and panicked, not wanting to explain, but to help his friend. "It's Sakura-san. The bird. The stupid bird fell from the tree and we all said no, that she shouldn't do it, but everybody knows Sakura-san! She's always like that. She just had to do it!"

Just a few things to point out: a) He was the new kid, didn't anybody remember that? He didn't know their precious Sakura Kinomoto at all. b) What was that supposed to mean? "She's always like that"?

But that wasn't the time to be pondering on those thoughts.

"Do what? What did she do?" He interrogated, kind of annoyed.

"She wanted to put it back in it's nest of course! And on her way down her uniform skirt got caught on one of the branches and now she's - SAKURA-SAN!"

Syaoran's eyes floated upwards. The tree was high, high up in the air and so was Sakura. Her skirt was ripped, the fabric wrapped around a single branch, which, might I add, had started snapping. All girls present cringed at the noise it made, afraid that it would come plummeting downwards, along with their good friend.

"I'm going to get a ladder - a teacher - anything!" Yamazaki said quickly, running off.

"Hurry!" Chihahru called after him.

The branch continued snapping. Sakura let out another scream. "Hoe! _Help!_"

She could've taken care of herself. Really she could've! She could've just summoned a card and kept everybody from worrying about her - but of course, that was impossible. Nobody knew about her secret besides Tomoyo.

"That's going to take too long!" Tomoyo screeched. "We have to do something!"

"Right." Eriol replied, brushing off his hands. "I'm climbing up."

"What?" Rika exclaimed, pulling him backwards. "You can't! You got a C- in the rope climbing lesson in gym, remember? What makes you think you can climb a tree if not a rope? You can't, or otherwise, you'll end up being in danger too, Hiirigazawa-san!"

Syaoran stared as everybody continued arguing, screaming or pointing out the obvious - yeah, it was as plain as day that Sakura was in deep trouble. And yet everybody was still not doing anything. "Help!" They all heard her cry out again. The branch snapped again which cued the screaming once more.

With a sigh of both frustration and annoyance, he muttered, "Son of a bitch." And pushed Eriol aside. He grasped onto the trunk of the tree, digging his nails into the bark. He hopped onto it, planting one hand after the other bringing him higher onto the tree, eventually leading him up to Sakura in world record timing.

"Li-kun!" She screamed, reaching for him, which was difficult as she was hanging upside down.

"Hang on," he instructed her, as he inched closer towards her on the same branch.

"Don't!" She cried, "Don't come any nearer to me on the same branch as the one I'm hanging on to! The entire thing will break off and we'll both break our necks!"

"What do you suggest I do?" He asked, irritated.

"Go onto the branch beneath me and - NO, LI-KUN!" He didn't bother listening to her, even though she was right. He continued making his way towards her on the same branch she was hanging from, adding more unwanted weight on it. Then, just as she had expected, the entire branch snapped off.

It seemed like a hundred screams went off all in one second. The single solid branch Syaoran was standing on vanished from beneath him as it flew downwards where he thought both he and Sakura would be landing in a heap of broken bones.

His eyes had closed on reflex as soon as he began to fall. When he opened them, he was staring at the clear blue sky before him, pain shooting down both his arms. He looked down and realized that he was hanging onto Sakura with his left arm, and holding on to a different branch with his other. He sighed, knowing that he still had a few years left for him.

"Kinomoto, you okay?" He asked, still hanging onto her.

Her reply came in a groan. "Hold on." He said, ignoring the pain in his arms. "I'm going to pull you up as far as I can and I want you to hang on to something solid and stay there, okay? Hear me, Kinomoto?" She groaned again. "I'll take that as a yes." He replied, beginning to do what he said he would do.

Sakura did as she was told and took hold of the first thing she felt - another branch. But this one stayed put. Syaoran lifted himself onto another branch and climbed down beside her, first making sure that this branch was stronger than the last. "You okay?" He asked her again. He watched for her reply, if she even gave one.

Which she kind of did. She stared at him, her eyes half closed. "I..." she began, before she collapsed onto his shoulder.

"Hey, hey..." he whispered, shaking her gently. "Wake up..."

A ladder then appeared beside him. He took a look beneath him and saw his homeroom teacher climb it. "Li-san, Kinomoto-san!" He exclaimed, after he'd reached them. "Are the both of you okay?"

"I'm fine," Syaoran half lied. The pain in his arms was still there. "But Kinomoto...she fainted."

"Oh no." Terada-sensei said.

"Take her." Syaoran suggested. Terada-sensei placed Sakura over one shoulder. "I can climb down myself. I'm fine." He nodded and began climbing down, Syaoran following after him, even though it felt like his arms were on fire and it killed him with every notch on the ladder.

When he finally reached the ground he felt like going on all fours and kissing it. But to do that would require the use of his arms, and his arms were at the moment, he finally noticed, both bleeding. One large gash on each one, but thankfully not deep enough so that he didn't lose all that much blood. But if he wasn't tended to quickly, he would.

He did not realize the large amount of people that were gathered around that single cherry blossom tree. He knew that Yamazaki must've gone bursting into the building or screaming onto the school campus, telling everybody about what deep danger Sakura was in if they didn't think he was lying about it first.

He looked over towards the people that were there even before Sakura had gotten herself into that situation, and they were all huddled around her, leaning against the trunk of the tree. He walked over to them, hoping to see how Sakura was doing - you know, not that he cared. It's just that he didn't go up the damn tree, risking his own life, to see that she died of fright or something.

"Hey," he greeted, in a tone of voice which clearly indicated that Sakura wasn't the only one that was injured.

Tomoyo looked up and ran the remaining distance between them to hug him. "Li-kun! Thank you so much! You saved her life!" He both winced and groaned at the tightness of her arms around his. She gasped and released him from her embrace. "Oh my God..." she breathed, looking at him up and down. "Look at your arms! Those gashes nearly reach your shoulders!"

"I'm okay," he insisted, not wanting to baby his injuries.

"No, you're not!" Tomoyo replied, "You're bleeding!"

"Everyone." They all heard. They looked to see whose voice it was and saw that it was Terada-sensei's. "Stay away from both Kinomoto-san and Li-san. Give them some air." Everyone did as they were told. He walked over to Sakura and scooped her up in his arms. "Li-san, you're coming with us to the nurse's office."

"I don't need to." he protested. "I'm fine. I just need a few band-aids..."

"You're going to need more than a few to patch up those gashes, son." Terada-sensei replied, ignoring all objections given. "You're coming with us whether you like it or not, Li-san. We need to get those arms of yours treated."

"But - "

"But nothing, Li-san. Either you follow or you're being carried there." Terada-sensei turned around, allowing Syaoran to glare at his back. They were treating him like a baby, which he was most certainly not. He was there on a very important magical mission, for God's sakes! He was the future leader of one of the most largest and powerful clans on earth! No one would make him feel inferior!

And yet he was being "babied" as some would call it, which embarrassed him like hell.

The large crowd around them parted, making a path for them to leave through. Many girls (his fan girls, to be precise) were near tears, probably thinking, "How on earth will he able to scoop me up in his arms and carry us to our dream castle in that condition?"

**_xxxxxx_**

Syaoran, Sakura, and their teacher arrived inside the nurse's office shortly. They were lead to a room where there were two beds, one of which Sakura was immediately placed onto as she was still knocked out. Syaoran sat on his, still glaring because of the fact that his first day at highschool had been a complete waste. Geez. Yeah, saving a girl's life on your first day must be such a waste.

"Will you be okay?" Terada-sensei asked Syaoran. He nodded. "I'll be off then, to inform your other teachers that you may or may not be coming to class, depending on the nurse's decision."

"Fine." He grumbled.

He then left the room, leaving the two students alone with the nurse. She smiled brightly at him but quickly turned her attention over to Sakura, who obviously needed it most. She clicked her tongue sadly. "Poor thing...she must've been frightened out of her mind." Syaoran did not reply. "Lucky she had such a handsome young man to save her life." He nodded instead of talking. He never knew how to handle the "Sweet Grandma" type.

"Look at you two!" She exclaimed, after examining Sakura. "Scratches and cuts all over. You must've taken quite the fall."

"Yup." He finally answered.

"Well then, I'm going to need to put ointment on those incredibly large gashes of yours and some stitches. They may be really long but luckily they're not too deep. That skin of yours is quite tough!" She added. "This little sweetheart right here..." she said to herself, caressing Sakura's forehead like a mother would do. "This one here needs a wet cloth so that maybe she can wake up. Some ointment and stitches definitely, too."

She walked over to a cabinet and opened it. She took out two containers of ointment and first began on Syaoran, but not before she took a piece of cloth and ran it under the sink, then placed it on Sakura's forehead.

He winced at the large amount of pain which was added to his arms as the nurse continued bringing the cotton ball dipped in ointment down the gashes. She then froze his arms so that he wouldn't feel anything as she sewed them. "Are you done yet?" He asked irritatedly, as she finished off the last bit of sewing on the last arm. She stared at it, proud of her job. On both his arms now were two thin lines, held together by his stitches.

"Great." He replied, making a movement to get off the bed.

"You're not going anywhere, mister." The nurse said, pushing him back on. "We're putting bandages on those later just in case they re-open. For now, I'll be tending to this one." She gestured over to Sakura.

He'd lost all strength to protest. Instead he just fell back onto the bed, impatience taking over. "Fine."

The rest of the time the nurse took care of Sakura, he stared at the ceiling. He didn't want to see her injuries or her getting stitched. Instead, he just began counting the tiles. The nurse's office with two other people around was not the place to be figuring out who the master was, either. Even when the nurse left, leaving only one other unconscious person, he wanted to be alone when he did so.

So basically, the entire time he was there, he was staring at the ceiling. Until suddenly, he heard a gentle voice from beside him. "You saved my life, didn't you?"

He sat up automatically, turning his head over towards Sakura. She too was staring at the ceiling, with a calm look in her face.

"...What?" Syaoran asked.

She sat up also to face him. She put her elbows on her thighs and cradled her face in her palms. It was only then that he noticed the small band-aid located on her right cheek. None the less, he still couldn't help but admit that she looked quite cute in the position that she was in.

No. _No_. Fan girls never looked cute. Fan girls only looked extremely desperate.

"You saved my life." This time when she said it, it wasn't a question, but a statement.

"Uh..." he replied, not knowing which words should be coming from his mouth.

"Thanks." She cut in sweetly, that same smile appearing on her cheeks. The way she tilted her head when she said so and the way she closed her eyes in reflex oddly made him tick. The cuteness she was emitting was almost sickening. "I really could've taken care of myself, though..." she added quietly. Then said, "but I'm still thankful! Really thankful. Seriously, Li-kun. I don't know how many times I could thank you."

"I'm sure you could've taken care of yourself," Syaoran muttered, ignoring her thanks, "that's why you screamed 'Help!' like you did, right?"

It took a while for Sakura to reply. Syaoran smirked, thinking that he'd finally made it through to her that he didn't deal with fan girls. But he most certainly thought wrong. "You know, you're quite the jerk." She said. His eyebrows drew together in confusion. Fan girls _never_ had the courage to speak back to him. They were either busy glaring daggers at him or crying their eyes out. "But you still saved my life."

Then there was silence between the two.

As if reading his mind, Sakura giggled. "I guess this proves I'm not one of your crazed fan girls, doesn't it?" The smile was back on her face. No, she wasn't being mean...she was being...nice, somewhat. She was teasing him.

He groaned. "You saw that?" He asked, referring to the first few minutes during lunch break.

"How could I not? I was just getting out of the building with Tomoyo and the others when we saw the crowd. I'm surprised you're still alive." She giggled again.

Another uncomfortable silence. Syaoran was the first to break it this time. "You know, you could've avoided your little sticky situation today." He said quietly. Sakura looked up at him, confusion in her eyes. "Hiirigazawa told me about how you tried putting the stupid bird back in its nest. You didn't have to."

"But it looked so scared!" She insisted, "It must've missed its mommy."

He raised a sarcastic eyebrow. "Whatever." He muttered, losing interest in their conversation.

"Li-kun..." she then said, peering up at him through her eyelashes. Not in that flirtatious matter that the other girls did, but in a sincere, shy type of way. "I'm serious when I say I thank you. I really do. You saved my life...so, it's kind of an understatement when I say that I owe you big time, isn't it?" She giggled again.

He turned away. "You don't owe me anything."

"Yes, I do," she said quickly, nodding her head, "seriously, Li-kun, if there's anything I can do, please tell me!" She was smiling broadly now.

He thought for a while. "Anything, Kinomoto?" He asked her.

She nodded vigorously, her body leaning forward, eager to hear what she could possibly do for him. "If it's anything that I can do. You know, nothing too bad."

He smirked. "Use your head the next time you decide to risk your life."

-

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-

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**Please know that the length of my chapters may vary. Thank you!**

Signing Off,  
Agent08 - _My life as a secret agent _xD


	4. The Tour

**Agent08 Reporting for Duty!**

Now on with chapter four!

**Saving Syaoran **

_The Tour_

Sakura nodded shyly at his request. Hmph! _Use your head the next time you decide to risk your life_. Stupid jerk. And she had just basically offered to him the ever civilized olive branch peace offering! But she would not get so easily hurt, no sir. He almost kind of reminded her about her big brother. With the way all the girls fawned over him and how he just saved her life..._very_ Touya-ish of him to do.

The nurse came back shortly, surprised that she was awake. She began making a fuss about how scared she must've been and how she dealt with it so bravely. Sakura was in the middle of thanking her when she heard Syaoran snort. Her eyes narrowed and she leaned to one side, only to see him smirking once again. She really needed to get used to the fact that he was more than a jerk. He was a _mega_ jerk.

"Thank you so much for everything you've done." Sakura thanked the nurse sweetly, truly meaning it. "I hope I wasn't hard to treat while unconscious!" She added humorously. The nurse laughed.

"Oh, no, dear. You were an angel." She insisted.

Syaoran, who now chose to lie back down on the bed, fought back another urge to snort. Sakura was too sweet for her own damn good. It was like with just a single sweet sentence of hers, she could make anyone diabetic. It really reminded Syaoran of something some people would call a "teacher's pet." But not _quite_...the way Sakura was acting, he noticed, seemed truly sincere, like most of her actions.

"As for you, dear," the nurse continued, walking over to Syaoran and instructing him to sit up, "I still have to bandage those arms of yours. So come on, we haven't got all day! Let's see them." Syaoran obeyed, sticking both arms out before him like a zombie. Sakura giggled from behind the nurse.

"Something funny?" Syaoran asked harshly.

He saw a hint of pink creep onto her pale cheeks. "Hoe...no, Li-kun. The way you're holding your arms, though...it looks funny!" And she continued giggling again.

"So does your face," he muttered quietly. She wasn't meant to hear that. But she did anyway. Immediately, she stopped giggling and bowed her head down so that her bangs were covering her eyes. Still bandaging his arms, the nurse looked backwards to see how she took his insult. She gave Syaoran an adult-type look and clicked her tongue.

"Now, now," she said, beginning on his other arm, "you two must play nicely! Li-san, is it?" She asked him, not quite knowing his name yet, because after all, he was the new kid. He nodded. "Well, Li-san, if you're new around here and you want to make a couple of friends, then maybe insulting the nicest girl around school isn't such a great idea." She said quietly, so that Sakura couldn't hear.

He rolled his eyes, keeping his reply to himself. Who said he was there to make friends? That was the thing. He wasn't.

Finishing up on Syaoran's last arm, the nurse asked for both Syaoran and Sakura's attention. "Well," she said, thinking hard, "considering your condition, Kinomoto-san, I don't think it's a good idea for you to head back to class." Sakura nodded. She was the good girl type, it wasn't like she was about to disagree with a superior or something. "And as for you, Li-san..." her voice trailed off, still in deep thinking mode.

"I'm fine for the last time," he stated, "can I please just go back to class?"

"Alright." She said. Syaoran's eyebrows raised. He didn't think it would be that easy. "But before you go, could you get me that bottle on top of the cabinet?"

Syaoran nodded, getting up from the bed and walking over to the cabinet. He stood on his tip toes, the cabinet not being near enough, and made a grab for the bottle with his arms. He suddenly winced, staggering backwards. The nurse clicked her tongue again. He looked at her, an accusing glare fixed at her uniform. "That was a trick!" He exclaimed.

"No, Li-san, merely a test to see whether or not you really were fit to get back to class. And obviously, you aren't." Syaoran continued glaring. "I don't want you doing anything with those arms today. Not a single thing. I want them planted firmly at your sides. That means no lifting them to put on a desk so you can write, meaning you can _not_ go to class. Are we understood, Li-san?"

Damn. For a really kind nurse, she could be strict.

"Fine." He agreed reluctantly. "But what do you expect me to do all day? Lunch break only _just_ ended and Kinomoto and I still have three periods left of class! There's no way I'm going to be spending the next whatever number hours in _here_."

The nurse pondered on this thought. Her face suddenly brightened up, an imaginary light bulb illuminating with light above her head. "I know," she said, "Kinomoto-san, why don't you give Li-san over here a tour of the school grounds? I'll write you both notes just in case a teacher catches you wandering the halls and didn't hear about your incident - though I'm sure they did. That way you two won't get into any trouble."

Lifting her head, Sakura nodded happily. "Sure! I can do that."

What the hell? He wasn't about to go walking around the school with that weirdo. Certainly he had a say in this, didn't he? "Wait, wait!" He chimed, holding up both his hands, signalling for them to stop talking, "I already _have_ a student guide given to me by Terada-sensei. And it's not you, Kinomoto." This time, Sakura seemed unaffected by what he said.

The nurse thought on his statement. "Terada-sensei? He gave you a student guide? He's not really one to do that..."

"Well," Syaoran began, "he didn't really give me one. Yamazaki-kun volounteered after class and - "

"Yamazaki-kun?" The nurse echoed, "That little liar of a boy? Knowing him for the past four years, he just did it to have an excuse to be late to class." She laughed at her own joke. "That's okay, though. Yamazaki-san has his own classes to attend, anyway. How is he supposed to show you around if he's already somewhere else?"

"But I - "

"So it's settled then, ne, Kinomoto-san?" She asked sweetly. "It's no trouble for you to show him around campus?"

"None at all!" Sakura chirped gleefully.

"Wait - "

"Let's go, Li-kun," Sakura said cheerfully tugging at his sleeve, "and don't raise your arms or anything, like the nurse said, okay? I don't want you to be in here again anytime soon." She walked passed the nurse's desk as she was bent over, scribbling down their note, and handed it to Sakura. She took it with thanks and dragged him out of the office.

Glaring at her the entire time, he ripped his uniform fabric out of her grasp once they were far from the office and in the quiet halls. He regretted doing so, because soon after, he felt that same kind of stabbing pain in the arm which had moved. He winced, holding it with the free one. It didn't hurt so badly to do so, because he hadn't done it in such a rough and quick movement.

"Li-kun!" Sakura exclaimed, crouching down so that she was at his level. "Oh...Li-kun, I thought the nurse and I told you not to do that?" She clicked her tongue and gently took his arm in her hands which were also stitched. She lifted the sleeve, allowing her to see the bandages which covered his injury.

"Don't!" He demanded, trying to get his arm out of her reach again.

"Oh no you don't." She said, keeping it tightly in her hands. He winced again. "Li-kun, what did I tell you? Stop making movements like that with your arms or you'll be in pain all day..."

"I don't need your help," he muttered.

"I don't care," Sakura replied, gently cupping his arm with the palm of her hands. She pressed lightly, hoping to create warmth, which it did, but it still hurt slightly, causing him to bring his arm back a few inches. "I'm sorry," she whispered sincerely, "I won't press so hard next time." She brought the sleeve back down on his arm and stared at him with an angelic smile. Even with a bandage on her face she still looked just a _little_ cute...

Syaoran furrowed his eyebrows, abruptly standing up. He then shrugged his shoulders backwards, as if regaining composure from a slight downfall. "There won't be a next time. I'm out of here." God, he didn't even thank her, which Sakura didn't bother pointing out. Instead, she trailed after him as he walked away from her, down the halls that he was not even familiar with yet.

"Where are you going?" She asked, speed walking to keep up with him.

"I don't know," he replied, not bothering to look at her, "somewhere quiet. Somewhere where there isn't anybody around."

"Why?" She interrogated curiously.

"That's none of your business, now is it, Kinomoto?"

"But I thought I was supposed to give you a tour of the school!" She reminded, now keeping the same pace as Syaoran's since he'd slowed his strides. He shrugged as if he didn't care and began twisting his head left and right, searching for that quiet place of his. Sakura then suggested, "I know! Why don't I show you the quietest places around here that I know of?"

"I don't need your help," Syaoran stated again.

"But you can trust me," Sakura insisted, smiling at him with a knowing grin, "really, you can. I've been attending Seiju High for the past four years now, Li-kun. I know the best quiet spots around here like nobody else." He stared at her skeptically, not knowing whether or not he should accept her offer. "How about it?"

He thought on this for a while. If she showed him around campus and all the greatest quiet spots, that could really be of help to him. If he came to know the school grounds like she did, then he would have the perfect spot to meditate and discover the master of the Clow Cards. And if he was rushed to challenge them, then he would also know the best place to choose as battle grounds.

At least she was good for something, he must've thought.

"Fine," he agreed, "but no stupid detours or whatever. Just show me all the best quiet places you know."

"Okay!" She said, taking the lead. "Follow me."

She walked briskly down the hallways, almost as if she was gliding on ice. Syaoran couldn't help but notice the grace she seemed to walk with, with that mix of klutizness that he just knew she had. Did that make any sense at all? She had _grace_, but she was also a _klutz_. A really weird combination for a really weird girl.

An odd tune then filled his ears. He recognized it of course, and narrowed his eyes at Sakura, who was now walking as if she were a feline on it's hind legs. "What the hell?" He asked rudely, "We're not spies, you know. Quit humming the _Mission Impossible_ theme song." She turned around and giggled at him.

"Sorry, Li-kun. I was just having a little fun." And although she stopped walking funny, she still continued humming.

Minutes later, the two arrived in front of a big black door. She stood beside it proudly, resting her hand on the silver handle. "So what the hell place is this?" Syaoran asked rudely. She smiled and opened it up, only to reveal...cleaning supplies? What the hell? "Kinomoto," he said, astounded, "You..."

"Do you like it?" She asked.

"You brought me to the freaking janitor's closet!"

"Yeah, so?"

He stepped inside, accidentally knocking over a mop. Sakura followed in after him, pulling on the dangling chain which illuminated the very tiny space. He scowled at her, glaring at all the polishing equipment and buckets and rags. "How the hell do you expect me to think clearly with this stench and this...stuff!" He exclaimed, rather than asked.

"Oh..." Sakura said, "you want a quiet place so you can think? Why didn't you say so?"

"Why else would I be in need of a quiet place?" He retorted.

Sakura lead the way out, now hopefully showing him to a much cleaner and sane quiet place. "Oh, I don't know," she replied, as she walked further ahead of him, no longer humming or walking strangely, "I thought maybe you'd want a quiet place so you could...hide or something," she said.

"Hide?" He repeated, "Why would I want to hide?"

Sakura giggled. "Well, you never know. Your fan girls might get violent."

He snorted, unconscious of where he was going, just staring at the floor beneath him and following where Sakura lead. "I'm used to them." He said.

"Did fan girls normally chase you back in China?" She asked amusedly.

He thought on this. "Actually, yeah, they did."

She fell silent for a few seconds. "Don't take this the wrong way, Li-kun. But you're really good looking and everything..." he glanced up with curiousity and saw her cheeks fill with a precious colour of pink. "but I don't understand why the girls have to go so..._insane_, over you, you know? They need to learn how to calm themselves."

"Like you've never gone crazy over a guy like that?" He asked.

"Never in my life, thank you very much," she answered quickly.

He hummed thoughtfully. "Maybe one day."

It was Sakura's turn to snort. "_Maybe one day?_ _Maybe one day_ what?" She asked humorously. "Maybe I'll find that one man in my life that will make me go insane and chase him all over school campus, hoping to catch his attention nearly suffocating him in the process?" She stopped to look at Syaoran, who had also stopped walking.

"Uh...yeah?" He answered.

She rolled her eyes, shook her head, and continued walking. "What about you?" She asked.

"What about me?"

Sakura shrugged. "Do you have someone in your life that makes you want to do that? A girlfriend?" He raised an eyebrow at her just as she looked backwards for his reply.

"Why do you care?"

She giggled. "I'm just asking, Li-kun. Besides, it's not like I'm interested." Not many girls could say that to his face and truly mean it, which impressed him. Maybe Sakura really _wasn't_ a fan girl, after all. "If you had a girlfriend," she continued, "you could just casually say it in front of one or two of your fan girls. It'll spread like wild fire and they'll leave you alone."

He considered the suggestion. "That's not a bad idea." He shook his head sadly. "Too bad I don't have one."

"You dont?" She asked, surprised. "Wow, I didn't see that one coming."

"What?" He asked roughly, as if insulted, "Am I _supposed_ to have one or something?"

"Hoe? No, no!" Sakura replied quickly, "I just meant that - I - "

"What?" He said again, more meaner than the last time.

"Hoe! I didn't mean it like that! I - I just thought that with all those girls chasing you...you would've had a girlfriend." He glared at her for a minute or two and let his gaze fall. Instead of talking, he let the conversation die, allowing Sakura to lead him to their next destination in silence. Until she broke it. "I'm...I'm sorry if it felt like I insulted you,"

He did not raise his head to look at her. He should have never let their conversation get that far in the first place. He was _not_ there to chat. There was a reason for her taking him to all the quiet places on school grounds that she knew of and it was not so that they could be friends. "It doesn't matter." He replied.

Another silence, and just like before, she was first to break it. "This is the best quiet place around," she said proudly, resting her hand against the silver handle of the door that they arrived in front of. "It's much better than the janitor's closet..." she added cutely, as if he hadn't been acting like a jerk towards her the entire day. "Follow me,"

He did as he was told without a word, only because he didn't feel like talking to her. She opened the door and before them was a flight of stairs. She began climbing them, skipping a few steps every now and then. He trailed behind, silent as the dead, which seemed to kind of bother her, but he wouldn't know why.

They finally reached the top of the stairs and before them was another door. "You ready?" Sakura asked, a smile upon her face. He raised a sarcastic eyebrow at her, as if to say something like, "Why wouldn't I be ready?" Instead of answering, she took the handle, swung the door open, and stepped aside to let him in.

He was greeted with a cool rush of air. His eyes were met with the blue sky, fluffy white clouds now visible amongst them. Where were they? They were on the school roof, of course. A tall rickety fence lined the entire roof top, evidently being added as a safety precaution, so anybody that just so happened to be there would not fall off.

"What about this one?" Sakura asked, "Do you like it?"

Syaoran studied his surroundings on the roof. There wasn't much. It was just a big, vast space filled with only he, Sakura, and the air. It was perfect.

"It's nice," he told her, "really nice."

She jumped up in happiness, "Yay!"

He raised yet another eyebrow. "Do you want an award or something?"

And of course, the coldness of his single sarcastic question cut through her like a blade, and immediately stopped her jumping. She smiled an almost embarrassed smile, shrugged her shoulders and walked the other way away from him, probably thinking the further away she got, the less meaner he would seem.

"Aren't you going to leave?" He asked.

"Why would I leave?" She squeaked in reply.

He sighed. "I came up here because I wanted to think. So that it's quiet. So that I could be _alone_."

"I can't leave you up here, Li-kun," she said simply, not meeting his eyes. "you don't even know your way back."

"I know my way back just fine." He answered quickly. "You can go now."

It was her turn to raise her eyebrows. "We may not have been talking, Li-kun, but that didn't mean I wasn't paying attention to you. You weren't doing anything but staring at the floor and following my feet. I highly doubt you can remember the halls we walked through or the classrooms we passed."

"But I need to think!" He snapped.

"Well think once your familiar with the school. I'm not leaving you up here by yourself when you don't know your way back anywhere."

"I could ask someone for directions when I get back in the hallways!" He said.

"Everybody is already in class, Li-kun. For the next three hours. And I don't think that your 'thinking' will take that long. Who will be there in the hallway to help you?"

"It's not like I'm going to get lost in a damn desert," he retorted, "just leave me alone, I'll be fine!"

"No." She said firmly, yet sweetly. "I _could_ leave you alone if you knew where you were going, though..." She then began thinking for a few seconds. "If you let me show you around the school more, than I won't have to stay with you." He looked at her, unsure if whether or not it would be smart to accept. "It'll only take an hour or two. And if you're paying attention and you remember where everything is, you'll have the rest of the day to do you're thinking on the roof."

Hm...that wasn't such a bad idea.

"Fine," he agreed reluctantly, "but we better be walking fast."

She nodded gleefully and lead him off of the school roof.

Something in his stomach told him that it was a bad idea that he let himself follow her around more. Somehow he felt something would go wrong. And yet, he ignored it and continued doing as this girl told. One question remained: fan girl, or not? Was this some devious plan of hers to get him to fall for her?

Well either way, it wouldn't work. He wasn't there to fall in love. He was there on a mission, a mission which he knew he had to accomplish. And he didn't care if he was using and abusing (certainly not physically!) people in the process. Even if it was this Sakura Kinomoto girl. What could she possibly mean to him in the future, anyway?

Our little Syaoran' here isn't as bright as we all think him to be. Ha!

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**A little product placement in this chapter. Can you find it? Teehee! Read and review, pls. :)**

Signing Off,  
Agent08 - _My life as a secret agent _xD


	5. The Blackout

**Agent08 Reporting for Duty!**

Now on with chapter five!

**Saving Syaoran**

_The Blackout_

Walking around with Sakura wasn't all that bad, it seemed. She didn't do anymore funny walking and the only tunes she ever hummed did not come from any more Tom Cruise movies. She got Syaoran to take his schedule out from his locker and then began showing him to all the classrooms that he'd need to know of.

Once done that, she started showing him other places on school campus. Like where certain events took place like cheerleading practice, soccer practice, choir practice...basically all practices. He'd scowled at her of course and rudely asked why he'd ever need to know the locations of these places...and of course, she sweetly answered, "Just in case you'd like to join any extra curricular activities. We take male cheerleaders, you know," she added jokingly.

"We?" Syaoran asked, "You're a cheerleader?"

Sakura nodded brightly. "Yeah." She then stopped walking, jumped up and landed with her feet shoulder width apart, clapped her hands together and shot her right arm up into the air, wincing while she did so. She'd almost forgotten about the stitches that she too got done on her arm that day. "Go Tomoeda Warriors!" She said cutely.

He rolled his eyes at her adorable cheerleading gesture. "Tomoeda Warriors, eh?" Syaoran mumbled beneath his breath once the two had started walking again. "What a clever name." Sakura let the sarcasm she sensed from his sentence slip. She was already used to that after walking with him and trying to make small talk with him for the past flipping hour.

"We take school spirit really seriously here." She stated, "Everybody attends every home and away game that we have."

"How interesting." He replied flatly.

"Do you play any sports, Syaoran? Interested in any extra curriculars we have here?"

He smirked. "Not unless you have a martial arts, fencing, or boxing club." He watched for her reaction.

She laughed uneasily. "Hoe...you know martial arts, Li-kun? And fencing? _And_ boxing? Hoe..." She backed away from him slightly, as if he was going to pull something on her right then and there. He rolled his eyes at her for the millionth time that day.

"Yeah, I do."

"Well...we don't have those type of clubs here,"

"Didn't think so."

"Well, it never hurt to try anything new, right?" She asked, her smile illuminating her face. Syaoran almost squinted but looked away quickly. He'd seen that grin one too many times that day. "Like they always say, there's a first time for everything, ne, Li-kun?" She tilted her head to the side, allowing her auburn bangs to splay above her eyes messily.

He still couldn't help but admit that it only made her all that much cuter. He glared at her. "Whatever."

Then, just as he'd replied, the bell rang, signalling the end of third period. Students began piling out of their classes, books in hand and already headed for their lockers. Syaoran and Sakura ignored their presence, continuing on with the tour. Until they heard the faint worried murmurs from down a different hall. They slowly made their way up to see who was speaking, shielding themselves behind a wall.

"Oh no...I hope Syaoran-kun is alright..." they heard a girl say. They looked at each other worriedly. The girl had black wavy hair and hazel green eyes. She'd been one of the many girls that had attacked him at lunch break.

"_Syaoran-kun?_ Hmph! Who said that _you_ could call him by his first name?" Another girl chimed. Oh no. From where they were standing, poking their heads out from one side of their hiding place, they could recognize her as _another_ one of his fan girls...

"You don't even know him!" One shrieked, joining into their conversation.

"You don't either!" Someone else retorted.

"You butt out, you weren't part of this!"

"Neither were you!"

"STOP IT!" The girls heard, all of them with different hair colours, facial and physical features and yet the same odd attraction towards Syaoran. They all turned their heads towards who had screamed. It was Eriol, books in hand and glaring. "You girls are like one big road block. No one can get to class because of you," he said rudely.

"Well none of us even want to go to class!" One replied.

"We just want to visit our Syaoran-kun..."

"Don't call him that!"

"_Ours?_ Who said anything about sharing?"

The commotion was just about to start back up again when four boys arrived at the scene, looking glum. "You won't find your precious _Syaoran-kun_ with the nurse," they said sadly. The fan girls looked to them with confusion. "We tried visiting Kinomoto-san to see if she woke up. The nurse said she was giving him a tour of the school..."

"What?" They all screamed. "He's with her?"

"Yeah," someone said coldly. From behind Eriol came Tomoyo, glaring a whole into all the crazed fan girls. "If you don't seem to remember, Li-kun wasn't the only one injured from falling off of that tree."

"No one asked _you_, Daidouji,"

Eriol opened his mouth to defend her, but Sakura got to it before him. "Hey!" She said, stepping out from the hiding place. Syaoran tried pulling her back but she ripped her elbow from his grasp quite furiously. She seemed rather determined. "Don't talk to Tomoyo-chan like that!" She demanded.

"Sakura-san!" Eriol said, surprised. The four other boys came rushing up to her, eager smiles appearing on all of their handsome faces. Tomoyo pushed passed them and took her hands in her own, happiness and relief clearly visible in her amethyst eyes.

"Sakura-chan!" She too exclaimed, her grip on her hands tightening. Luckily, Sakura's hands were not injured so it didn't quite hurt. "I'm so glad that you're awake! How badly hurt are you? Did the nurse say that it was anything serious? Do you need to stay home from school tomorrow?" Tomoyo's interrogation seemed like it would never end.

"Tomoyo-chan, I'm fine..." Sakura said calmingly, "don't worry!"

"Kinomoto-san..." she heard. She turned around quickly, only to come face to face with the four boys who tried visiting her. Syaoran shielded himself more securely behind the hiding spot, as if what he was about to witness was something private and he was not allowed to see.

"H - Hoe...h - hi, boys..." she said shyly, her eyes gravitating towards the floor.

"I'm so glad you're alright!" One of them said.

"Me too," Another said.

"Me three,"

"Me fou - "

"Okay, okay!" One fan girl cut in impatiently. "You guys are glad she's alright, okay? We get the point. Now what about Li-kun? Where is he, Kinomoto-san? We know you were with him."

"Hoe..." she said hesitantly, "Li-kun...Li-kun is..."

"Kinomoto-san!" Another piped, "You _left_ him all by himself in the hallways when he is new to the school and _injured?_ We thought you were nice!" She insulted rudely. Sakura's jaw automatically dropped having never been insulted by an acquaintance from her grade like that. She thought she was friends with everybody.

"No, it's not like that!" She tried explaining, "I was with him - "

"_With_ him?" They all screamed, "What do you mean _with_ him?"

Tomoyo rolled her eyes and sighed frustratedly, "Will you just let her explain?"

Sakura too then decided to show her angry side. "Yeah, I was with him, but if you guys would just quit interrupting, you'd know that I only meant _at his side_. And what should you girls care, anyway? You're all acting mean because of a _boy_...he is _just_ a boy...and if you guys were spending the day with him like I was _asked_ to do by the nurse, then you'd realize he isn't looking for a girlfriend!"

Everyone remained quiet. Until one of the four boys asked quietly, "Why are you defending him like that?"

"Hoe?" Sakura said, taken aback. She would defend _anybody_ like that, not _just_ Syaoran.

"Kinomoto-san...you don't..._like_ him, do you?"

Sakura laughed nervously. "You're...you're _kidding_, right? I only just met him! How could I - ?"

"Aha!" The same fan girl shrieked, "You _do_ like him! Just like the rest of us! Well you better back off, Kinomoto-san. Just because you're showing him around campus doesn't mean he's yours!"

Syaoran rolled his eyes from behind his hiding place. Everybody began arguing again. Tomoyo, defending Sakura, saying over and over again that if she said she didn't like him, then she didn't. Eriol trying to calm the boys down who were now fuming because of the fact that they _thought_ she liked him, and the fan girls that were about to rip each other's bodies apart, _including_ Sakura's.

"Will you guys STOP IT?" Syaoran finally said, coming out from his hiding place. His loud voice carried itself down the hall where it reached the big crowd, each and every person suddenly stopping what they were doing. He pushed passed those blocking his way to meet with Sakura and his group of fan girls. "Here's a piece of advice: quit fighting!" He bellowed, "And another thing; try listening to what Kinomoto said! You might actually learn something for God's sake."

"Syaoran-kun..." one squeaked.

"_Don't_ call me that." He said flatly.

"But Li-kun, please - "

"Kinomoto, can we just finish up with this damn tour already?" He asked, turning towards Sakura. He stretched out his arm, willing Sakura with his eyes to just take it so that they could get the hell out of there. She looked from him to his open palm, the inviting warmth she knew it would provide just screaming out her name. With much hesitation, she took it in hers.

He pulled her along with him roughly, wanting to get away from the crowd as fast as possible. They then heard multiple shouts coming from behind them. "Li-kun, please wait!" "Sakura-san!" "Kinomoto-san, wait, could we talk for a moment?" "WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING WITH HIM, KINOMOTO?" "Don't talk to her like that!"

The next thing they heard was a pair of what seemed like a million feet trailing along behind them, following them like paparrazzi. Their footsteps suddenly grew louder, which of course could only mean one thing - they were being chased.

Sakura's hand then tightened around Syaoran's as they too started running. "What are we doing?" Syaoran asked her as she took the lead once more. Syaoran was the fastest runner around, he knew that, but he was very surprised at the speed that Sakura was currently running at. She without a doubt could certainly have given him a run for his money.

"What does it look like we're doing?" She replied, dragging him along behind her as they turned a corner of the hallway.

"We can't keep running like this!"

"They're bound to stop sooner or later - they all can't just not attend class!"

"I'm not going to keep running!"

"DO YOU HAVE A BETTER IDEA?"

He stopped running, pulling Sakura back violently as his hand was still in hers. He dragged her over to a door that he hadn't seen yet as part of the tour and swung it open. He looked at her, answering her previous question with his eyes. "Going in?" He asked almost gentleman like, even though the footsteps of the crowd were getting louder and louder.

Syaoran's eyes roamed over to the floor of the hallway. The shadow of the loud mob was fast approaching and becoming more visible on the illuminated floor of the hallway. So instead of waiting for her reply, he shoved her inside, not caring how badly it hurt and threw himself in after her, coincidentally tripping over his own feet in the rush and pulling Sakura down to the ground along with him.

"Ow!" She said loudly.

"Shhh!" He hissed, smothering her mouth with his hand.

Movement was heard outside of the door and the silhouette of people moving on the other side could be seen at the bottom of the door. They waited silently as the noise began growing fainter and fainter, and the shadows subsiding signalling the long awaited departure of the crazy crowd.

"It's so dark..." Syaoran heard Sakura say, almost fearfully.

"Baby." He muttered, trying to get to his feet.

He sensed the movement of the girl beside him as she groped for random things, trying to reach for something solid to help herself up. She crawled on all fours until she hit a wall. She raised her still groping hands as she suddenly felt a fully upturned lever of some sort. "What's this...?" She asked absent-mindedly as she took it in her own hands.

"What's what?" Syaoran asked, trying to look for Sakura and a light switch through the darkness. He couldn't even reach the door anymore, it was so incredibly dark.

Closing her hands around the lever Sakura pulled on it so she could raise herself up onto her feet. She thought that the lever would stay in place, upturned, as she pulled on it. But to her surprise, as she pulled, the lever came down as she got on her feet, and the room gave a sudden noise which sounded something like, "_Zzzzzzzzzzzzzt_."

Both she and Syaoran stayed silent. "What was that noi - "

Suddenly, a multiple amount of faint screams were heard from outside. Sakura then started walking, with no idea as to where she was headed. Her eyes were not yet used to the darkness. She could hardly make out the shape of anything. "What on earth was - " she began, as she made way for what she thought was the door, until Syaoran took her elbow.

"Don't!" He said, "It's probably nothing serious - "

"But what if it was?" Sakura interrupted, "Tomoyo-chan and Eriol-kun and all those girls are all probably still in the hallways! We have to go see if they're alright," she insisted, reaching out and feeling the doorknob. She smiled in triumph. "Yes!" She whispered, pulling on it roughly, eager to see what was going on.

And you'll never guess what happened next.

The knob fell loose from the door, landing with a clattering type of noise onto the floor.

Syaoran's eyes narrowed in the darkness. "Kinomoto..." he said slowly, "what was that?"

She laughed nervously, whipping around to try and see his face, which she obviously couldn't do. "Hoe...uh...you see, Li-kun...the, uh...the...the knob kind of, er, came loose and...uh..."

"Kinomoto..."

"We...kind of don't have any other way out."

"Kinomoto!" He said angrily.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" She said quickly, "I didn't mean for it to happen!"

He followed her voice and threw himself at the door. He placed both of his hands on either side of it, trying to shake it vigorously. When that didn't work, he then tried throwing himself at it again, shoulder first. Sakura gasped from the side, seeing his dark figure slam himself continuously at the door.

"Li-kun!" She said worriedly, grabbing his shoulder roughly. "Don't! You're injured, remember?"

"It doesn't hurt," he insisted. And it didn't. He'd gotten used to the pain by then.

"Still, Li-kun. Those gashes of yours nearly reach your shoulders, remember? I don't want them re-opening when we have no nurse and no way out of here." She said gently.

"Oh yeah," he said coldly, "and whose fault is that again?"

Sakura's face crumpled in guilt. "I know, I know. It's my fault and I'm really sorry."

Instead of forgiving her which she hoped he would do, he grunted and said, "Let's just try looking for a damn light switch. Then maybe we can call for help and we can see what's going on outside." Sakura nodded, though she knew he couldn't see her do so, and started pushing her hands against the wall, searching for the light switch.

"Got it!" She said finally. Syaoran rushed up to her, his eyes now used to the darkness. He could now clearly make out her figure. Sakura smiled to herself and flicked the switch upwards. Her eyebrows suddenly furrowed. No light came. She flicked it downwards then back up again. Still no light. She continued this movement again and again until she finally realized what had happened.

"Oh my goodness, Li-kun," she said breathlessly, "that lever I pulled...I took out the light!"

"What?" Syaoran asked.

"When I was trying to get up I pulled on this lever thing to help me...hoe, it was the electricity lever!" She said, suddenly feeling panicked out of her uniform.

A voice was heard from outside the door. Both rushed up to it and began screaming for help, banging on the door with all their might. Until they realized no one was out there. It was a P.A. announcement. "Students," they heard. Sakura recognized it was the principal's voice. "The staff and I do not know why this has happened but all electricity has gone out."

Sakura sensed the glare Syaoran was directing towards her which made her cringe in guilt.

"For your own safety, please stay in your respective classrooms. If the light does not return in the next few minutes we will be requiring your evaccuation from the building where all students and staff must report to the grass field. Further instruction will be given at that point if the light does not return. Sorry for any inconveniences and thank you for your cooperation."

"Kinomoto," Syaoran began, taking her by the shoulders. She looked at him skeptically. "Help me find that lever you pulled so that we can switch it back up. Then the lights will come on and maybe we can actually see and find a way to get out of here."

Sakura nodded and tried retracing her steps in the disturbing dark. She could sense Syaoran's movement from behind her, following her again. She reached her arms out slowly, groping for the lever on the wall that she bumped into. And in a miraculous two minutes she'd located the lever once more. She clamped her hand over it and turned her head to speak to Syaoran.

"I've got it!" She said, about to pull it up.

"Wait!" Syaoran cried, bringing his hand over top of hers.

The minute Syaoran's hand made contact with hers she felt a sudden spark enter through her entire body. The odd sensation caused her to shriek in surprise, suddenly jumping backwards in one quick movement, the lever still in hand. Syaoran stumbled backwards onto his butt and groaned. "What did you do that for?" He asked rudely, getting up onto his feet and ignoring the minor ache in his butt.

"I - I'm sorry! You surprised me!" Sakura explained, not realizing what she had just done.

"Get out of the way," he hissed, moving passed her and making a grab for the lever. His eyes narrowed in confusion when he felt none. He began dragging his hands on every bit of the wall he could feel but still felt no lever. "Kinomoto..." he began, "I thought you said you found the..." he groaned again. "Kinomoto!" He exclaimed, turning around to face her. "Do _not_ tell me you did what I think you did."

Sakura laughed nervously again. "Hoe...it wasn't my fault this time!" She said, dropping the lever onto the floor. "You surprised me so much I didn't realize I took the lever off of it's hinges...it was partly your fault, too! What did you think you were doing, just placing your hand on top of mine so roughly like that?"

"For your information," he seethed, "I didn't trust you pulling the lever cause you already screwed up with the door! I thought it would've been better if I handled things with it, and apparently, I was right."

"It was half your fault, too!" Sakura repeated. "If you didn't trust me with such a simple task you could've just said so instead of doing..._that!_" She defended.

"Never held a boy's hand before, Kinomoto?" He asked sarcastically.

Sakura sighed. "Could you just not be mean for a single second? We kind of have a problem we have to solve!" Both sighed and slouched over to the darkest corner of the room. "Now what are we supposed to do?" She asked. "It's so dark we can hardly see, we have no way out of this room, and...I hate the dark!" She added loudly at the end, sounding more baby-ish to Syaoran than ever.

He rolled his eyes and sighed. "Well what else are we _supposed_ to do?" He said, "The only thing we can do now is wait. They obviously won't let this light outage go uninvestigated, right? And this _is_ the electricity room to have the electricity lever in it, _right?_ They should be coming here any minute now to pull it back up. Not that they can," he explained.

She sighed once more. "Okay then...if you say so."

They both sat down just a few inches away from each other, their backs against the dirty wall of the electricity room. They would shift their positions, not that they could choose from many, every now and then, not knowing what else to do. Their silence was not a long one, but for them it felt too long. "How long has it been?" Sakura asked after a while, the silence finally beginning to unnerve her.

"Fifteen minutes or so I suppose," Syaoran answered boredly.

"Why haven't they arrived yet?"

Syaoran shrugged. "Who knows." Sakura sighed sadly, now choosing to sit with her knees pulled up to her chest and then wrapping her arms around her ankles tightly. Syaoran glanced at her shadowy figure and could tell that she was upset. Not quite being an expert when it came to comforting, he said, "But you shouldn't worry...they're bound to come in here sooner or later."

She didn't reply, which for some reason, really bothered him. So picking conversation instead of silence, he tried again. "So, uh...who were those boys back there?" He asked. Sakura lifted her head but did not anwer. "You know," he began, just in case she did not remember, "those boys back there in the hallway that said they went to visit you?"

"Oh," Sakura replied shyly, "those were just a few friends of mine."

He smirked to himself, knowing that he could get her into in an uncomfortable situation. He liked watching people squirm. "Oh really? Just a few friends of yours?" Sakura replied with a yes. "Well, they seemed quite...uh, fond of you." Sakura shifted again, this time uncomfortably. "Anyone with eyes could tell that they have a - "

"It's not really any of your business..." she cut in, sounding as though she didn't want to seem mean but would really rather not talk about it.

"Sorry," he said, though it sounded like he didn't mean it. "but they seemed a little jealous when they thought you liked me." He pointed out, remembering how suddenly their eyes had narrowed in obvious anger. Sakura's head flicked towards him, her own eyes becoming thin slits in the darkness.

"You don't know what you're talking about," she stated simply, "they were _not_ jealous."

"Who are you trying to convince? Me or you?" She shook her head, not willing to listen anymore. "Aw come on, Kinomoto," he said, "it's not your fault if they happen to have a crush on you." Once again, her head flicked towards him, this time her eyes questioning how he got that bit of information. He smirked. "It was obvious, Kinomoto. The way they were looking at you just seemed a little..._romantic_."

She turned to him. "Well, I could say the same about your little fan girls." This time it was he who shifted uncomfortably in his spot and Sakura who smirked. "Just one day at school with you and they've already fallen head over heels in love. Not that it actually _is_ love. They're just pretty much obsessed."

"No kidding," he muttered, which earned him a giggle from Sakura.

"I told you they'd get violent some day." She said, nudging him in the ribs playfully.

"Even with the nicest girl in school," he added.

Sakura laughed. "Who do you mean? Me? The nicest girl in school?" She continued laughing again and Syaoran stared at her like he did the first time they met. "Well, sure I'm nice. I'm nice to everybody. But there are much nicer people in this school than me. Who's been feeding you this stuff?" She asked.

"I can tell," he half lied because he really could tell. Sakura really was nice, probably the nicest girl in school. Although the nurse _did_ tell him so in the first place.

Sakura stopped laughing and smiled. "Thanks." She said. Even in the complete darkness her smile seemed to glow brighter than the sun. Syaoran shook his head vigorously, turning away. Sakura raised an eyebrow and steered the subject from her being nice, to him joining any extra curriculars, like they'd spoken about earlier.

"Come on," she urged, "you never know, you might have fun."

"I'm not here to have fun," he said solemnly.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Then what _are_ you here for then, huh, Mr. Bigshot?" She asked humorously.

Syaoran hesitated for a bit. What was he thinking about? Who knows. Syaoran had such a big and complex mind, it was hard to tell. Smirking and tilting his head to one side like Sakura, except his being more sexy than it was cute, he leaned in to her face, staring deeply into her emerald green eyes. "You really want to know?" He asked mesmerizingly.

Sakura stared at him, confused, yet at the same time, enticed. She too leaned her head in, except she did it unknowingly. "Uh...yeah...I do..."

He moved his body closer to hers. He was no longer leaning against the wall for he was now facing her completely, his head slowly inching towards hers. "Well..." he drawled slowly, suddenly feeling the heat of her breath against his cheek. "if I told you..." he stopped, his nose nearly touching her own. "I'd have to kill you."

What was he doing? Oh, well, I'll tell you what he was doing. He was messing with her! Well, to put it in lighter words, he was simply testing her. Any fan girl in that position would grab him with both arms and kiss him like there was no tomorrow. If she refused him right at that moment then he would finally accept that she truly _wasn't_ just trying to get with him.

He waited for her response to his actions by staring more deeply into her eyes. It was just a strategy, of course, to try and see what she would do...of course he wasn't just looking into them because they looked so unbelievably beautiful. What a crazy idea.

His eyes then gravitated towards her lips. He watched closely...would she try to place them on top of his? And then suddenly, he saw their movement. Aha! He knew it. She really _was_ a fan girl! He wasn't surprised, though. He was normally right about these type of things -

"Li-kun!" She suddenly exclaimed loudly, beginning to laugh again. Instead of taking him and pulling him closer she pushed him away roughly yet playfully, the laughter continuing to spill from her mouth. "You're funny, you know?" She said. "You should be a comedian. Ha, ha! _I'd have to kill you_. That was a good one, Li-kun, really."

"W - What?" He stuttered.

"That was a funny joke!"

He tried to laugh. "Ha, ha...right. A joke. Funny. I'm funny."

She raised an eyebrow at his sudden strange behaviour. "Li-kun, you okay?" She asked.

He got up abruptly and folded his arms across his chest. "Yeah, yeah. I'm totally fine. Why wouldn't I be fine?"

Sakura also got up and tried looking at him closely but it was difficult in the dark. It was easier before when his flace was so incredibly near to her own. "Wait," she suddenly said, "you didn't think that I was going to...to...?" She wasn't even able to end her sentence. She didn't even _think_ about doing that.

Well it crossed her mind, once or twice, but then she realized his joke. Of course he was just trying to get her to understand the joke, not _kiss_ her. Why would he ever want to do that?

"What?" He asked, though he knew the message she was trying to convey.

Sakura shook her head. "Oh, nevermind. I was just thinking stupid."

Both sighed and presumed their former positions on the floor. So she really _wasn't_ a fan girl. Well, he was proven wrong. But what did he care? It was good to know that he wasn't stuck inside a room with a crazed, obsessed fan girl. It was good to know at least _one_ girl hadn't fallen for him...

But of all the girls that didn't have to fall for him, why did it have to be the one with the most stunning eyes?

-

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**Sorry for the long wait, you guys! Pls read & review! xD**

Signing Off,  
Agent08 - _My life as a secret agent_ xD


	6. The Discovery

**Agent08 Reporting for Duty!**

Now on with chapter six!

**Saving Syaoran**

_The Discovery_

"Okay, so, let me get this straight," Sakura began the day of the blackout while walking out of the school building with Tomoyo, "Li-kun and I were stuck waiting a whole twenty-five minutes or so in the electricity room because you guys continued running in the hallways." She said slowly. Tomoyo nodded. "And while doing so, a fan girl tripped and one of her books went flying, right into a cieling light?"

"That's right," Tomoyo said.

"And just at that moment, coincidentally, the lights went out?" She asked. Tomoyo nodded again. "And so the glass from the light shattered which would explain why you and the others had those cuts," she glanced at the band aid on Tomoyo's hand, "and that would also explain why I heard those screams?"

"Correct."

"And that is why we were stuck in that room for so long? Because they thought that the source of the outage was because of you guys and not because of me accidentally pulling the lever?" She looked to Tomoyo for another answer.

"Right again." She replied. "After finally realizing that it wasn't because of that, they went straight to the electricity room where they, of course, found you two." Sakura's best friend then wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. She hit her on the arm lightly as they passed others walking home from school. "So, how much trouble did you get in?"

"None, actually," Sakura answered, sounding quite relieved. "After they had to take the door off of it's hinges to help us out they made us explain why were in there. Li-kun lied for us and said that I was just showing him the electricity room as part of my tour for him. That's when we accidentally closed the door a little harshly and the knob fell loose."

"How did you explain the lever?"

"I was the one who lied this time. I couldn't let him take the blame for something I did. So I said that while I was walking I tripped over my own two feet - "

"That's pretty believable," Tomoyo commented truthfully, "everybody knows you're the biggest klutz in school, anyway." And that earned her yet another light pat on the arm.

"As I was saying," Sakura continued, "I just said that while I was walking I tripped over my feet and accidentally pulled the lever down with me while trying to keep me from falling down. We explained to them that it was an honest mistake, even though we lied." She shrugged with a grin on her face.

"So you guys got off, just like that?" Tomoyo questioned.

"And a warning to be more careful." Sakura added. "Anyway, I'm just so glad that we got let out early because of the outage. Today's just been so...weird. First the tree accident, then having to give Li-kun that tour, and then the blackout...I'm tired out of my mind, Tomoyo-chan." She stretched her arms out exhaustedly.

"You realize that basically everything that's happened with you today had something to do with Li-kun?" She raised her eyebrows knowingly. Sakura rolled her eyes. She had enough people thinking she liked Syaoran that day. "I'm kidding!" She said in defence, just as Sakura was about to whack her again, "How could you spend your entire day with that grouch, anyway? He's so quiet and moody..." Tomoyo shivered at the mere thought of his cold attitude.

"I could barely handle it, Tomoyo-chan," she confided honestly, "he was insulting me or ignoring me half of the time. I was trying hard to keep cheerful. But he made it so difficult. I know it may seem like I'm dealing with him normally but if you ask me, Tomoyo-chan, that man is completely and utterly infuriating."

She looked over to her best friend as she waited for her response. Her gaze was directed straight ahead but not really looking at anything. It seemed as though she were deep in thought, which she most probably was. "But he is though, isn't he?" Tomoyo asked although Sakura did not understand the question.

"He is what?" Sakura asked.

"He's a man." Tomoyo replied.

She raised a sarastic eyebrow. "I'm not that dense, Tomoyo, I think I could've realized that for my - "

"No," she interrupted, "I don't mean gender-wise. I mean...he's a _man_. Not a _boy_, but a man. Unlike the other immature weirdos in our grade."

Sakura eyed her friend suspiciously. "Tomoyo-chan...you don't _like_ him, do you?" She asked incredulously.

Tomoyo's eyes widened in both surprise and realization. "_Eh?_ No, of course not! I didn't mean it like that. I was just trying to point out that even though he's as nice as an anger management patient, he's still really mature for our age!" She glared at Sakura's laughing figure which was shaking with uncontrollable giggles.

"I was kidding!" Sakura exclaimed, raising her hands in defence, "And besides, what would our poor Eriol-kun do if you started liking another guy?"

Tomoyo's glare then became just as visible as the red was on her cheeks.

**_xxxxxx_**

Syaoran arrived at his apartment with a grim attitude, like always. His first day at a real high school and he wasted it! Yeah, sure, he saved a girl's life, but what good did that do him? Saving that Sakura Kinomoto's girl's life didn't play as an advantage towards him in the finding of the person who was the master of the Clow Cards.

"Welcome back, Syaoran-sama." Wei, both a good family friend and his attendant greeted, taking his coat from him and hanging it on the coat rack. His presence was required with Syaoran in Japan, of course, as he was still a minor. Wei was the only other person Yelan trusted with her son completely. He'd been there for the both of them since day one. Through the death of his father, his many training sessions, now this...

He followed him to his bedroom where he watched the young man unpack his things slowly. "You're back earlier than I expected." He stated standing in the doorway, "But why?" He asked.

"Power outage at school," he answered simply, walking passed Wei and into the kitchen.

"I'm sorry, Syaoran-sama, because I hadn't expected your arrival until another few more hours I didn't prepare your meal."

He looked up and attempted a smile at the old man, his wrinkles making the wisdom within him obvious. He was always like a grandfather to him. The way he treated him and the way he acted around him were the only actions of affection ever shown to him growing up as a child. "That's okay, Wei, I can make it myself. I'll do the dishes later, too. You should get some rest."

"But Syaoran-sama - "

"It's okay, really. I don't have that much homework, anyway." He tried grinning again, but it was difficult for him. He couldn't remember the last time he smiled, but for Wei, it was worth a shot. He stretched one side of his mouth uneasily, hoping it didn't look as crooked as it felt. Wei chuckled.

"Alright, Syaoran-sama. If you insist."

He walked to the living room and took a seat on the large and comfortable arm chair. Syaoran then began preparing his meal, taking out all the essential ingredients he needed in order to make it, etc., etc. He then heard Wei's voice calling out to him from where he sat. He then began cooking while he answered his questions.

"Have you identified the unknown master?" Wei asked conversationally.

"No, not yet," Syaoran answered.

"Oh," he replied, "well, you're not being rushed, might I remind you of that. The elders do not care how long it takes, so long as the cards are in your possession, remember? In fact, they are the ones urging you to take your time." It was probably the only act of kindness that the elders had ever shown him. "Did you make any friends?" Wei then asked.

Syaoran stopped. He then hesitated.

"Syaoran-sama?"

"Uh," he replied, snapping out of it and continuing to stir his already made soup, "not really. Maybe one."

"Oh, well, that's alright." Wei replied symphathetically. "You still have tomorrow."

"It doesn't matter," Syaoran responded dismissively, "I'm not here to make friends, remember, Wei? The elders don't want me getting distracted."

"Oh, Syaoran-sama," he said, "who said that friends were a distraction? It might be good for you to meet new people. I know that Miss Meiling can get a little tiring sometimes...a different friend or two might be good for you, Syaoran-sama." He tried to sound convincing, hoping that Syaoran would at least give it a try.

"I don't need any, Wei."

**_xxxxxx_**

The next day at school the power was back and completely fine. Taking the long way to his locker to see the electricity room, Syaoran noticed that the door was also back and completely hinged. It was closed so he couldn't tell whether or not the knob was fixed, too, and he didn't really care enough to see if it was.

He walked to his locker where he was unhappy to see Takashi Yamazaki leaning against it, smiling widely and eyes shut tightly closed together. He groaned and asked, "What do you want?" For him, it was never too early to act like an asshole. He shoved Yamazaki aside and did the combination for his lock.

"Now, now, no need to be rough." Yamazaki stated, brushing himself off. "I was just waiting for you so we could walk to homeroom. Duh."

"Why?" He asked skeptically.

"Just in case you don't know your way around yet. I'm your student guide, remember?"

Syaoran slammed his locker closed having retrieved the items he needed from it. He close his lock shut and began walking, Yamazaki trailing along behind him like a lost puppy dog. "Hate to break it to you, Yamazaki-kun, but Kinomoto already gave me a tour yesterday. I know my way to all my classrooms just fine." He entered homeroom truly having memorized where all his classes were.

"What? Aw, man. Now I don't have an excuse to be late anymore," he said glumly, walking passed Syaoran and over to his seat. Syaoran simply shook his head and simply took his own seat, awaiting for the teacher's arrival. The classroom was loud with chatter. Everybody was either talking about the tree accident, the power outage, or something apparently more important.

The classroom door suddenly slid open only to reveal a panting Sakura. "SORRY I'M LATE!" She said loudly. Syaoran stared stupidly at her strange entrance but he seemed to be the only one bothered by it. Others in the room either acted as if it never happened, laughed, or just simply rolled their eyes. He also noticed that the bandage from her face was gone. He guessed she healed quickly.

"Find something strange?" Someone asked. Syaoran turned around and was greeted with a pair of large amethyst eyes. He nearly jumped in his seat.

"W - What?" He stuttered, a little disturbed at how abnormally sweet this girl sounded. He knew who she was of course. She introduced herself the other day as Tomoyo Daidouji. And it was obvious to tell that she was indeed Sakura's best friend. It was impossible for him to _not_ know so. With the voice she was using, maybe she was rubbing off on her?

Not bothering to repeat the question she walked around his table and spoke to him as she made her way towards Sakura. "You'll get used to it, Li-kun. Sakura-chan's been doing that since as long as we all can remember." She patted her friend on the back, smiling as if she were about to laugh. Sakura laughed nervously.

"Just made it again, huh?" She asked Tomoyo.

"Yep," Tomoyo replied.

Following in after Sakura was the teacher. "To your seats, everybody!" He announced. "Chop, chop!"

Both scurried quickly over to their seats. Tomoyo beside Syaoran and Sakura behind. She smiled to him in greeting and he nodded solemnly in reply. Oh well. At least he didn't glare or insult her, right? That was the first positive thought to have entered her brain that morning.

"Quiet down, everybody. I have a few announcements today..."

As the teacher spoke, Syaoran got caught up in his thoughts. He could sense it again...that source of magical power that he could not identify. Well, today would be the day, he declared silently in his mind. He would climb the stairs leading up to the roof and finally find out who the master of the Clow Cards was.

Syaoran's thoughts were then rudely interrupted by the loud chatter of the girls in the classroom. His attention was then given back to the teacher. "Alright, alright, girls, settle down." He requested, "As I was saying, because the spring formal is coming in a few weeks, the activities committee will be putting up signs during lunch. Anyone who would like to help out is free to do so."

"Tomoyo-chan!" He heard Sakura whisper from behind him, "Let's help out after we eat, ne?" She suggested.

He glanced from the corner of his eye to see her reply. She nodded with a smile on her face in agreement. He smirked. At least he knew what she would be doing during lunch that so he could avoid her as best he could.

"...And that's it for today's homeroom session." A bell sounded and everybody got up from their seats to head to their first class of the day.

**_xxxxxx_**

For the third time in a row, Syaoran did the combination for his lock. He would've been in his last class before lunch break, sitting in his seat and not paying attention to the teacher, but his lock absolutely refused to open. He needed his textbook to attend that class but how could he when he couldn't retrieve it?

"Damnit!" He cursed quietly, though by then, he was the only one in the hallway. He slammed the front of the locker with his right hand and leaned back on it in defeat. He would just have to go to class and share textbooks with someone else.

He heard footsteps from around the corner of the hallway. In case it was a teacher, he turned back around and tried doing the combination for his lock again, just so it didn't look like he was skipping. He didn't dare look up to see the eyes of the suspicious adult, walking towards him accusingly though he wasn't doing anything wrong.

But no, it wasn't a teacher. "Li-kun?" He heard. It was a familiar voice.

It was _her_ voice.

He looked up and made contact with those same green eyes. He groaned in annoyance. Yeah, okay, so the other day he had to admit that she truly _did_ have quite the pair of stunning jade green eyes, but that certainly didn't make her any less annoying - she had to be the only girl in the school that he found annoying that _wasn't_ a fan girl. He found that out yesterday.

"What do you want?" He asked.

She smiled at him, ignoring his tone of voice. "Nothing. I was just on my way to the bathroom. Something wrong?"

He rolled his eyes at her and turned back to his locker. "No, nothing. Everything's fine." He felt her watching him as he did the combination again but with no avail. He sighed in frustration and tried with all his might not to kick the stuffing out of his locker. Yeah, Syaoran got really frustrated really easily.

"It doesn't seem like it..." Sakura said quietly, shoving him out of the way gently. She took his lock in her tiny hands and asked, "What's the combination?"

"I'm not going to tell you." He answered, "I don't need your help. Now can you please get your hands off of my lock?" He may have used his so-called manners but he certainly didn't use it in a mannered tone of voice.

"Come on, you can trust me," Sakura insisted, "I'm only trying to help."

"Yeah, well, I don't want your help." He stated, trying to take hold of the lock, accidentally placing his hands on top of hers, thinking that she would've let go. That same type of electric shock weaved through his veins, passed through the palm of his hands into her own, sending tingles down her now rigid spine.

Immediately, he let go. Whenever they suddenly touched like that, why did that always have to happen?

His eyes looked from side to side, not knowing what to say after what had just happened. He certainly felt it, but still, he was really paranoid - did she feel it, too? Instead of having to deal with it, he sighed in defeat and told her the combination of the lock - anything to avoid speaking about the little shockwave.

"Zero to the left," he instructed, "Thirty four to the right, seventeen to the left."

Sakura nodded, turned the lock in the order he said it, pulled, and nothing happened. She stared at it, concentrating hard. Smiling, she did the lock again, this time turning the lock the entire circle before going to number thirty four. She pulled on the lock, and - _voila_. She slid it out of the hook and placed it in Syaoran's hands happily.

"There you go!" She chirped.

"H - how did you - ? H - how did I forget to - ?" He spluttered.

"Everybody forgets to do that all the time. And plus, you're new, aren't you? Our school locks are complicated at first. You'll get used to it," she explained, patting him on the shoulder, and skipping down the hallway again. She didn't bother to wait for his reply or a sign of thanks because she didn't think he would give any. But he did.

"Uh," he began awkwardly, staring at her back, "thanks. For, you know, helping me out."

Slowly, she turned around, unable to believe what she had just heard. Had Syaoran Li, the cold, mean new guy really, truly thank her for helping him with his uncooperative lock? A slow smile appeared on her cheeks, the dimples adding to her cuteness. "You're very welcome!" She said in reply, turning on her heel and continuing to skip.

Syaoran couldn't help but notice that there seemed to be an added enthusiasm in the way that she skipped. But he couldn't think about that - he had a biology class to sprint to.

**_xxxxxx_**

Of course, just like the other day, Syaoran breezed past his first three periods without difficulty. He didn't get in much trouble for being late for his biology class - just a tardy slip and a minor scolding - nothing too harsh. And then, his now favourite part of the school day, lunch break, was just a few seconds away.

Syaoran sighed his relief when the bell sounded loudly in the classroom. He ignored the teacher's instructions about their next assignment and when it would be due and rushed out after all the other students. He went to his locker quickly to store his books and did not bother getting his lunch. Instead, he made way for the roof top.

"Li-kun!" He then heard. He turned around to see who had called his name and groaned when more than one fan girl was standing just a few feet from him, waving and smiling like a bunch of morons.

He barely even nodded in reply and started speed walking in a different direction, hoping they wouldn't pursue him. He heard fast footsteps from behind him and more girls crying out his name. Cursing silently, the minute he turned the corner he broke out into a sprint, forgetting about his plans to meditate on the roof, but just wanting to get away from the crazy girls first.

It seemed, that all the while he was running, the throng of girls behind him grew bigger. His eyes widened in shock. He didn't realize he was _that_ popular among the girls. Increasing his speed by about a million times more, he pushed open the door leading to the outside and screeched to a halt behind one of the many cherry blossom trees.

Just a few seconds later he heard the screams of the fan girls. He stood as still as a statue, keeping his mouth shut tightly. "Where did Li-kun go?" He heard. "Hurry forward!"

A numerous amount of footsteps ran straight passed the cherry blossom tree that he was hiding behind. When they were no longer in hearing distance he sighed and turned to make his way back into the building. That is, until he heard the certain loud giggle of a certain girl. He stopped dead in his tracks and turned his head slowly to the direction of where it came from.

Not so far in the distance he saw Sakura and their normal gang. She, Tomoyo, Yamazaki, Chihahru, Rika, and Eriol were all seated once again beneath a different cherry blossom tree, eating their lunch and fooling around.

Hesitantly, he slowly crouched behind another tree to...watch. Not exactly to spy...he was just curious as to how they acted with each other. Growing up, he was never able to do that type of thing...he was just a little interested.

Squinting his eyes, he watched as Chihahru took her boyfriends neck in her hands and choke him while everyone around began laughing loudly. Probably for telling a stupid lie, he presumed. Tomoyo, a slight bit of pink on her face, was feeding Eriol part of her lunch, kind of like how a cute couple would do.

His eyes then settled on Sakura. He didn't have much to observe as she was no longer eating. So he began to study her sitting position. Cross legged, leaning against the trunk of the tree, her hands resting lightly atop her knee caps. Her laughter danced with the wind, just as her hair blew slightly, her bangs displaying themselves messily yet cutely across her forehead.

Was there ever a time that she wasn't smiling?

Suddenly, in slow motion, she began to turn her head. He hadn't anticipated for that to happen, so he was kind of caught off guard. Her eyes then focused in on his and her smile only grew wider. She raised her arm and waved for him to come over. A little surprised, he stumbled backwards, tripping over his feet and landing with a thud on his butt.

He closed his eyes in minor pain. "Li-kun!" And when he opened them again, Sakura was standing before him, leaning downwards with her hands on top of her knees again. "Are you okay?" She asked, a little amused at how clumsy his fall was, not that it's never happened to her before. She held out her hand for him to take.

Ignoring it, he stood up abruptly and brushed himself off. "I'm fine." He replied shortly.

The two stood in silence for about a second before she invited him over to sit with them. "I'd really like it if you could join us, Li-kun." She said. Both turned their heads to look over to where she was previously sitting. All that were still seated were smiling at him and waving. The people at this school were just too damn nice.

"It's okay, I was just taking a walk." He insisted.

"No, please?" She asked sweetly, "Please join us? Tomoyo-chan and I are going to be leaving soon to help with the activities committee. Just come for a little while?"

She looked at him with her large, round, pleading jade green eyes. If he had stared any deeper into those emerald pools he most probably would've fallen right in and drowned. He shook his head from side to side vigorously, beginning to make his way away from her. "No, it's okay. Maybe some other time."

"Is something wrong?" She asked, a little concerned.

"No, no. I'm okay. It's okay." He was starting to ramble. "I - I should go. Later - I mean, see you in class."

Why he was starting to act a little like an idiot in front of her, he didn't know. All he knew was that she was starting to have this weird kind of affect on him and he didn't want it to get him distracted from his current task at hand. So, shrugging her off, he walked back into the building to meditate on the roof top.

Most students were outside, enjoying the feel of the warm spring sun. That seemed to work as an advantage to him as he didn't have to make sure no one was following him - he was perfectly alone, ready to discover who it was that controlled the cards. After that day he would begin his strategic planning and start getting to know them - just as the elders had instructed.

He climbed the stairs leading up to the roof and pushed open the door. Being higher up in the air than the others below him he couldn't help but shiver a little, as it was quite colder. Taking a deep breath, he situated himself in the center of the roof and sat cross legged, eyes closed, mind clear.

_Concentrate_. He thought to himself. _What is it that you want to see?_

"Their face." He answered quietly in a voice which came from deep within his throat. In order to not be interrupted like he was last time, he began muttering a spell which would not disturb his concentration. "_Elemental powers of the earth, I request you show me the face of the master of the Clow Cards_."

A strong wind picked up from around him which would explain the howling in his ears. He shut his eyes closed tighter as the wind began picking up more speed making it even more difficult for him to say the spell over again. "_Elemental powers of the earth_," he said fiercely, the intensity growing with each and every second, "_I request you show me the face of the master of the Clow Cards!_"

An aura so unbelievably strong was released. He gasped at the sudden power of it, no longer unable to control what was happening. The magical source of energy grew stronger as a slideshow began to play within his mind. First, just a bright pink screen. That was all he saw for a long few seconds. And then the Clow Cards which were also pink in colour. And then -

Her face.

Sakura's face.

His eyes snapped open as he fell backwards onto his back. He got up on his knees quickly and began panting. No. _No_. That couldn't have been right. There was no possible way that Sakura Kinomoto, the annoying, cheerful girl he'd only just met the other day was the master of the Clow Cards! She was too...uncapable of herself!

"Damnit," he cursed, sweat forming on his forehead, "I'm not concentrating hard enough!"

Staying on his knees, he began to chant the spell again. He didn't care that he was already drained of a lot of his magical powers and that he was in no shape whatsoever to repeat what he had just previously done. He needed to prove that Sakura really _wasn't_ the master of the cards. It just wasn't possible.

"_Elemental powers of the earth_," he cried, that same strong gust of wind surrounding him once more. It was blowing so strong that he was finding it extremely difficult to stay on his knees. "_I demand you show me the _true_ face of the master of the Clow Cards!_"

As if angry with him, the wind only blew harder as that same slideshow replayed itself inside his head and the bright pink aura devoured him in it's overwhelming power. The bright pink screen was first once again, obviously representing the colour of the aura. And then the pink Clow Cards, and then, lastly -

"No." He said hoarsely, as Sakura's angelic face once again appeared clearly in his mind. Panting like an obese person after running a marathon, he fell forward, pounding the roof top with his fist. "That's not possible! She can't - it's not - how could this - ?" He cried out in both confusion and anger. "I'm supposed to win the cards over from _her?_"

Just as Syaoran had asked that he felt the bile rise in his throat. He knew it was a mistake to repeat that magical cycle again but like I said, he didn't care. Now, just because he couldn't believe that Sakura truly was the master of the Clow Cards, he was just about ready to vomit because of the intensity he'd been through.

Grasping his stomach, he gagged slightly and spat out the disgusting liquid which gathered in his mouth. He wiped the back of his mouth with his sleeve and stood up slowly, still not knowing if he was able to stand on his own. He took another deep breath to calm his nerves.

"It's okay, Syaoran." He said to himself calmingly. He began making his way down the steps as he continued saying soothing things to no one in particular but himself. He pushed open the door and was relieved to see that no one was inside still. If he was going to give himself his own kind of pep talk, he would rather do it alone.

"Everything's okay." He told himself, "This should make things easier, right? That Kinomoto girl is about as dangerous as a fruit fly. I'll spend more time with her, get to know her. Find out her weaknesses. She won't know what hit her when I challenge her." He tried smirking his infamous smirk but for some reason could not do it. "Winning the cards over will be easy!"

Slouching out of the building to get some fresh air, he didn't realize the people that were near him. Lifting his head just a little he noticed that a few people were staring upwards, their eyes squinted and scrutinizing. That's when he heard the voice of a fellow student.

"No, no. Higher. No, that's too high. Lower. Too low! It needs to be level, you guys! Work with me here!"

He remembered that people were putting up posters and banners and such to advertise the school's upcoming spring formal. He then also remembered who would be helping out. Sakura, also known as, the mistress of the Clow Cards. He didn't know if he was fully prepared to see her yet, as he'd just found out her big secret. So he decided to hurry while she wasn't in sight.

Just as he was about to walk passed the ladder that someone was already on top of, he stopped to see who it was that continued yelling out more demands. He recognized her as one of his more quiet fan girls (if there was such a thing). He tried to brush past her, not wanting to be chased or spoken to or anything. He certainly was not in the mood.

"Li-kun!" He then heard just as he lowered his eyes again and was about to start walking.

He groaned. "Yeah?" He replied irritatedly to the girl giving directions, his quiet fan girl. He looked at her irritatedly, though he barely even lifted his head.

"Could you help us out a little? Maybe because you're taller you'll be able to position the banner better than Ki - "

"Sorry, kind of busy." He cut off coldly.

A little hurt, she continued to press the matter. "But Li-kun, it'll only take a second. Please help us out? She's not doing a very good job up there, I'm telling you that Ki - "

Frustrated and frankly rather annoyed, he rolled his eyes, growled loudly and gruffly punched the wooden ladder beside him, forgetting that someone was on top of it. Gasps broke out as another noise came to join - a girl screaming as if she was about to fall. Realizing what he did, he stepped up immediately, looking up at the girl's now falling body.

Holding his arms out and praying to God that the falling girl didn't land anywhere else but in them, he shut his eyes. His prayer being granted, he felt the bundle of weight land clumsily into his arms. He hiked her up more securly in his grasp shortly afterwards, not realizing who it was that he accidentally pushed and caught.

He opened his eyes and saw - for the third time that day - her face.

Eyes shut tight in fear and half of a spring formal banner ripped and clutched in her slightly shaking hands, was Sakura. Slowly, her eyelids were lifted only to reveal semi-watery emerald green eyes. "Li-kun..." she whispered hoarsely in a quivering voice. "You saved me."

Again.

_Damnit!_

-

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**This will be my last update before school starts! Please understand that my updates might be posted in a spreaded amount of time. Thanks so much for your continued support! Read and Revew :)**

Signing Off,  
Agent08 - _My life as a secret agent _xD


	7. The Spring Formal Warm Up

**Agent08 Reporting for Duty!**

Now on with the chapter seven!

**Saving Syaoran**

_The Spring Formal Warm Up_

"You saved me."

Damnit, damnit, damnit,_ damnit!_ Couldn't he get anything right?

The water in Sakura's eyes began to subside along with her fear of hitting the hard cement, thanks to Syaoran, who had chivalerously caught her, thus, saving her life for the second time in a row. But he wasn't just saving _anybody_. He was saving the freaking mistress of the Clow Cards, or rather, the _Sakura_ cards, which made all the difference in the world.

As if she was a disease that was highly contagious, he set her down abruptly on the ground, stepping back from her uneasily. She fell to her knees, however, her legs being wobbly and unstable from her recent fall. Tomoyo who had seen the whole thing rushed up to her with worried eyes.

"Sakura-chan!" She cried, "Are you alright?"

Sakura attempted to smile. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm alright, Tomoyo-chan. I'm just a little shaky..."

She sighed in relief and turned to look at the surrounding people who had come gathered to see the commotion. "Alright people, nothing to see here." She announced loudly, waving people off with the flick of her hand, "Sakura-chan's fine. Go on, back to your work." When the last of them had dispersed she looked to Syaoran, who's face was still expressionless and now a good distance away from Sakura.

"Boy, Li-kun, am I ever grateful that you moved here!" She said airily, walking over to him. He did not reply, he didn't even turn to look at her. All he could do was stare at Sakura's body on the ground, being helped up to her feet by various others. Tomoyo looked from him to Sakura and couldn't help but raise a suspicious eyebrow.

"Li-kun?" She said loudly, waving a hand in front of his face. His head moved back a few inches and shook from side to side, as if waking up from a dream.

Turning to Tomoyo he asked, "Yeah?"

She smiled a little. "Did you hear a single word I said?"

Ignoring her, he continued staring at Sakura. He just couldn't seem to help it. After discovering her true identity as the mistress of the cards, he began seeing her in a new light. Was this clumsy crap all just a facade to throw people off her scent? So no one would ever possibly think of her as a powerful sorceress so she could surprise them in the end?

He realized that there was more to her apparent cuteness and clumsiness than he thought.

"Yeah." He answered absent-mindedly, tilting his head at Sakura's still shaking figure, "You're grateful for a boy who can hear."

Tomoyo had to cover her mouth in to keep in her giggles. "Come on, Li-kun." She said, tugging on his sleeve, bringing him over to Sakura. "Come with me."

Once realizing where it was that he was being dragged, he planted his feet firmly on the ground and refused to go any further. That was the damn card mistress she was bringing him to! He wasn't quite ready to face her after realizing what he'd just realized! "Wait, Daidouji!" He said, "Stop that! I have to - I haven't - "

"This will only take a second." She insisted, now pushing him instead of pulling. He was amazed at how strong she actually was.

"Daidouji - quit it! I'm - what are you - "

"Li-kun?" A quiet voice said. He flicked his head upwards nearly giving him whip lash. Sakura was slowly walking towards him, her legs now evidently working perfectly fine. A slow blush creeped onto her cheeks as she stood shyly in front of him, her left foot beginning to trace little circles on the ground. "Li-kun...I'm really so embarrassed."

"Embarrassed..." he echoed uneasily, shifting his weight from one foot to another. "Why?"

The blush began spreading at an increasingly high speed. "That's the second time in a row you've saved me...and I'm really thankful. But normally I'm not this accident prone. Usually I only have accidents like that once every few months," she said. He couldn't tell if she was saying it as a fact or if she was trying to make him laugh. Even if she was, he didn't crack a smile.

"Oh."

She looked up at him through her eyelashes. Not in a flirty manner, but in a manner which kind of told him that she didn't want to be in this situation any more than he wanted to be. "Anyway..." she began after a short pause in which Tomoyo watched carefully between them, "I just wanted to say thank you again. I'm really grateful," the corner of her mouth lifted, as if she was trying to grin.

So there _were_ times when she found it difficult to smile. And he didn't think it was possible.

"Ah, well," Tomoyo began when Syaoran did not reply, "to show our thanks, I'd like to personally invite you to this get-together I'm hosting at my house this weekend, which would coincidentally be, tomorrow!" Syaoran couldn't help the widening of his eyes. This being his first year in a real school, this was also his first time being invited to a party.

Both Syaoran and Sakura remained silent as Tomoyo reached into the pocket of her school skirt. She smiled triumphantly and handed to him a folded piece of paper. He looked from the paper to Tomoyo's twinkling amethyst eyes. There was something about those eyes that made him feel like she was planning something. He didn't like it.

He took it after some hesitation and unfolded it. His eyes quickly read over what was printed on it. It didn't take a genius to figure out that the fancy writing from Tomoyo's computer and the fancy borders and pictures which also probably came from a computer made the official invitation to Tomoyo's "Spring Formal Warm-Up."

**Tomoyo Daidouji's Spring Formal Warm Up Party!**

You know it, students of Seiju High! The Spring Formal is just weeks away and all of you can feel the excitement! I know I can!

Anyone and everyone is welcome to come. The party begins at 6:30pm and ends until whenever you, my guests, choose to leave! The offcial themed colours of this party are: black, white, and gold, so be sure to dress in these particular colours. Formal wear is not necessary, so wear whatever you like!

My address and cell phone number are below! Please be sure to call and tell me if you'll be coming! Many thanks!

-Tomoyo Daidouji

He looked up at Tomoyo with uncertainty. He wasn't sure if he'd be in the mood to be attending parties by tomorrow. And she _was_ nice enough to personally ask him to come. He didn't really want to hurt her feelings. "Gee, Daidouji...uh, thanks for the invite." He folded it once more and placed it in his own pocket.

"My pleasure!" She replied, "It's the very least I could do, since you've saved my best friend's life twice." He saw Sakura's blush grow even brighter.

The three stood in silence for a while, Sakura's eyes still on the ground, along with Syaoran's. Tomoyo was the only one who was looking up and smiling. Not liking the unwanted silence, Syaoran decided to question her about the get-together. "So...uh, Spring Formal Warm Up party, huh?" He asked conversationally.

"Yeah!" Tomoyo responded cheerfully, her smile growing extremely bright, "I've been working so hard on it. You see, Li-kun, it's almost like tradition here at Seiju High that somebody throws a warm up party for any school event. Like last year's Christmas Ball for example," Tomoyo continued as a matter of factly, "remember, Sakura-chan? Mako-chan threw that awesome Christmas Ball Warm Up party?"

Sakura nodded.

"And remember for the Halloween Masquerade? Niko-san hosted it and we'd never been so scared and amused in our entire lives?" Sakura nodded once more, the blush beginning to disappear. Syaoran listened intently, finding what Tomoyo was telling him just a little interesting. "And this year, the activities committee has asked ME to host it. Isn't that just so great? Me, of all people, to host the Spring Formal Warm Up Party! Isn't that just so great?"

"Yeah, really great," Syaoran replied.

"You know what else would be great?" She asked, "If you could come. Isn't that right, Sakura-chan?" She nudged her best friend lightly in the ribs.

"Yeah, it'd be cool." She answered.

"Uh..." Syaoran stuttered, "I'll think about it."

"Good enough for me!" Tomoyo replied instantly, "Just call my cellphone any time, okay?" She began dragging Sakura inside the school building with her muttering things furiously into her ear. He watched as she responded with a, "Well of course I have to take you to the nurse's office! Who cares if it's your second trip there? I don't want to take any risks, Sakura-chan!"

He spent the rest of the day, not only thinking about Sakura as the new mistress, but the first party he'd ever been invited to. Sure, he may have been welcomed into a group of friends which were all really friendly, but would he go? He wasn't really the type to mingle, and more importantly, he wouldn't know how to act. Might I remind you, this was his _first_ party. He didn't want to have to spend it looking like a complete and utter loner.

**_xxxxxx_**

He walked home by himself, like normal, avoiding a fan girl or two, the Spring Formal Warm Up still on his mind. Would he go? Would he stay at home doing homework? On a _weekend?_ He was sure that he could possibly have a good time, what with people having this odd attraction towards him. Not just with girls romantically, but with males in a friendly type way. He was sure Yamazaki was going. Maybe they could hang out?

He shook his head, entering his apartment and shutting the door closed behind him. Who was he kidding? Just because he was strangely popular at his school didn't mean he would fit in that nicely...

"Welcome home, Syaoran-sama." Wei was at his side just seconds later, hanging up his coat.

"Hi, Wei." He replied, stepping in the kitchen.

"Your meal is in the stove." He informed him.

"Oh. Okay." Syaoran said, "I can take it from here, Wei. Besides, I want you to be sitting when I tell you this."

Taking a seat on the same chair that he always occupied, Wei looked to Syaoran, confused. He waited for a while as Syaoran began making the rest of his after school meal. Out of the silence came Syaoran's slow, intimidating drawl. "Wei? I identified the master of the Clow Cards today." He didn't have to look up from what he was doing to see that Wei was shocked.

"So early, Syaoran-sama? That's quite an accomplishment."

He never replied, only took his plate onto the dining table and sat down, eating utensils in hand. Wei watched his knuckles grow white, but he never could've guessed why besides the fact that he must've been cluthing his chopsticks way too tightly than necessary. But why would he ever do that?

"Syaoran-sama?" He said, after he didn't reply, nor did he begin eating his food. He suddenly didn't have much of an appetite.

"Well..." he said slowly, not looking up from his plate, "her name is Sakura. And from what the elders told me, I guess that makes the cards Sakura Cards now. She's my classmate, you know?" The way he said this made Wei want to frown, which he did. He'd known Syaoran his entire life, had been taking caring of him since he was a young boy. He could tell Syaoran was sad...

But why would he ever be sad? A third of his task had already been done just by identifying the girl. If anything, he should've been saying that with pride, with excitement, knowing that a challenge was on it's way, because Syaoran always enjoyed a good challenge. Unless...

"Syaoran-sama? Could you possibly..." he hesitated with his words, not knowing how to question Syaoran to test out his assumption. "Syaoran-sama," he tried again, "could you possibly describe her for me?"

Normally, Syaoran would've asked him why. Why would he ever want him to describe the Mistress of the Clow Cards? Who cared what she was like? She was his opponent, making her the bad guy. Making her the enemy. It didn't matter what her characteristics were or whatever...he just needed her weaknesses, that was it. Nothing more, nothing less.

But no, he did not hesitate. His grip suddenly loosened from his chopsticks and unknowingly to him, Syaoran...grinned. He _grinned?_ Wei was never more shocked. Sure, he'd smirked a couple of times every now and then, but it had been so long since he last really, truly smiled. Maybe Wei was right about this Sakura girl afterall? Maybe Syaoran really _did_ have a crush on her?

"Her name's Sakura Kinomoto. She's kind of a dork, actually, Wei." He said, a hint of amusement in his voice. "She's really so clumsily...I've had to help her out so many times in school so far, before and after I figured out who she was. Her hair is light brown, really light. Kind of like..." he paused to think. "Auburn! Yeah, not poo kind of brown. It's a pretty brown..."

Pretty? Was Wei hearing correctly? Was he _seeing_ correctly?

"Her eyes are these really rare colour of green. I've honestly never seen it before until I met her...she's horrible in math from what I see in class, and really gullible."

Wei was astonished at how fascinated he seemed by his own words, all because of this Sakura Kinomoto girl. He decided that he would most certainly love to meet her and figure out just what exactly made her so different from all of the other girls that chased Syaoran around both there in Japan and China. Fan girls, he remembered Syaoran calling them.

"Wei?" Syaoran suddenly said, interrupting his thoughts. "I was invited to a party, too..."

The sentence that Syaoran had just stated caused Wei's jaw to nearly hit the floor. That shocked him more than anything! More than the fact that he smiled, more than the fact that he seemed to be crushing really badly on his opponent...a party? Syaoran Li, as popular as he was, had never, ever been invited to an actual high school party in all his years of living. Ever.

"Syaoran-sama..." Wei breathed, "that's terrific!" He really was truly happy for him. "Maybe you could ask Kinomoto-san to go with you?" He suggested quietly.

Then, the old Syaoran Li was back. Out of his odd state squirmed his old self, the quiet, rude Syaoran Li. He stared at Wei with cold, hard eyes, a questioning look within them. "Why would I want to do that? Why would I want _her_ to come with me to this party, if I even went? She's the enemy, Wei!"

"I was just saying, Syaoran-sama..." Wei tried to explain, unaffected by his semi-outburst. He'd experienced being on the recieving end of one of Syaoran's angry questions before, honestly. "You spoke quite highly of this Kinomoto-san. Maybe you could go with her. Make friends with her. You seem to..."

_You seem to really like her._ That's what he wanted to say. That's what he was about to say, before being cut off by the look on Syaoran's face - the kind of look which indicated that an idea had struck him smack dab in the middle of his forehead.

"You're a genius, Wei!" Syaoran exclaimed, getting up from the dining table, "Of course, that's what I should do! I should go to this party, learn more about her, try and figure out what her weaknesses are! And be befriend her! That way she'll be crushed and unwilling to fight me when I finally challenge her! Yes!"

He walked straight passed Wei and into his bedroom where he continued to brainstorm the possible things he could say to Sakura tomorrow at the party - and what he could possibly wear. "You're great, Wei!" He smirked happily at him, (yep, back to smirking) and patting him heartily on the arm. He shut his bedroom door and Wei knew that he wouldn't be coming out until dinner was ready.

"Really like her..." he muttered quietly to himself with a sad smile on his face.

On the other side of the door, Syaoran took the cordless phone from the corner of his bedroom and took out the slightly crumpled invitation to the Spring Formal Warm Up from his pocket. He flattened it on the bed and punched in the number of Tomoyo's cell phone number.

Ring. Ring. Ring.

"Hello?"

Slight pause. "Hi, Daidouji...it's me, Syaoran."

**_xxxxxx_**

"Really? You can?" Tomoyo practically shrieked into her cellphone. Sakura lifted her head up from her math textbook to give her best friend a perplexed look. She lifted a hand which obviously meant for her to just wait a second before she answered the question she knew she'd be asking, until she finished the conversation. "That's great! So we'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

She snapped the phone shut and turned towards Sakura and took her hands in her own excitedly. "Li-kun is able to to come tomorrow!" She exclaimed.

Sakura smiled. She'd been wondering all day if he'd accept the party invitation or not. From the way she'd been studying him the past two days they'd been at school together, she kind of got the vibe that he wasn't the type to socialize all that often. She hoped that he would come...for some reason she could not quite put her finger on, she really wanted him to be there.

"That's great," she agreed.

"Isn't it? Then you two can hang out some more."

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "I won't be the only one to be hanging out with him, Tomoyo-chan...Li-kun is a popular guy. I'm sure he'll have lots of others to mingle with, not just me." Again, for a reason she could not guess, this half disappointed her. She was glad that she knew he'd be able to make more friends the next day, yet sad, because he wouldn't be with her most of the time...right? He'd have other girls to tend too...

"Sakura-chan?" Tomoyo asked, when she'd noticed Sakura's gaze float downwards towards the carpet floor with a kind of saddened look on her face. "Sakura-chan?"

She looked up, oblivious. "Hoe? Sorry, Tomoyo-chan. Just got a little distracted."

Tomoyo tilted her head to the side to study her best friend. She squinted closely at all her features...normally, she could tell just by looking at her if there was something wrong. But when it came to the subject of Syaoran Li, Sakura's feelings became harder and harder to interperet, although she had a pretty good idea about how she was starting to feel...

"Come on," she said suddenly, taking her hands once more and pulling her towards her walk-in closet.

"Hoe?" Sakura asked, dropping her pencil on top of the bed where her notebook and textbook were also lying, "I thought we were supposed to be doing homework?"

"We've done enough homework," Tomoyo replied, throwing the door of the closet open and pulling Sakura inside with her. Sakura had been in that closet many times before but she couldn't help the widening of her eyes everytime they set their sights upon the many different dresses and outfits which filled it so decoratively.

Half of the clothing in the closet wasn't even Tomoyo's. She had more than one special section for Sakura's clothing. Battle outfits, party outfits, formal dresses, the works - you name it.

"Hoe! Tomoyo-chan, no!" Sakura pleaded.

"Sakura-chan, no complaints," she stated dismissively, "the Spring Formal Warm Up is tomorrow and I still haven't decided what you'll be wearing. We need to brainstorm right now." Sakura groaned loudly, sliding down the wall of the closet and covering her face with her hands. Ignoring this, Tomoyo scanned the possible things she could be wearing for the party.

"How do you feel about this?" She asked after what seemed to Sakura hours of deliberation when really, it was just a few minutes.

"Horrible." She replied without even glancing at it, her face still being buried in her hands.

Tomoyo rolled her eyes and smirked at Sakura. "Perfect."

**_xxxxxx_**

The next day, Syaoran was up bright and early like normal, except for completely different reasons. Even away from Hong Kong, Syaoran rose early from bed to train with his sword, but because of the day's events, he strayed away from his original routine. Instead, he got up to prep himself for his very first, actual high school party.

The other day he'd been looking over every piece of clothing he had. He had to remember that the party was colour coded - and - he wanted to look nice. What? You couldn't blame him, could you? It was his _first_ actual party, for the millionth time...he couldn't help but be conscious of what he wore.

He stared at himself briefly in the full length mirror hanging on his wall. He smoothed out the slight creases in his white long sleeve. It fit him nicely, not so tight that it would rip - because, of course, he had some major muscle. But not so loose that it made it look as if he had a second skin. It was partially see through, so anyone who stared closely enough (his fan girls, most likely) could see the white wife beater (also known as a muscle shirt) he wore underneath.

He took the invitation out from his black pants and read it again for the hundredth time. The party started at 6:30pm, and it was already 6:40. He wanted to be casually late, but he was going to be leaving in a few minutes. He didn't need to do anything else before he left because he'd done everything he felt he needed to - he spent his time wisely, taking a shower, combing and re-combing his hair (though it still remained as messy and hot as ever).

"Ready to leave, Syaoran-sama?" Wei said, opening the door to his bedroom slightly.

He threw the invitation onto his study table and nodded. "Yeah, let's get going."

They locked up the apartment and took the convertible which his mother gave him as a going away present to Tomoyo's house. She didn't live anywhere near the school, he noticed, when he took a look at her address. From what he knew, Tomoyo lived in a gated community where only the biggest and finest of houses were built.

As Wei drove past the gates of her community and began searching for Tomoyo's house number, he turned his head to look at Syaoran. "I hope you have fun, Syaoran-sama."

"Thanks." He replied.

It was a while before he spoke again. It was not until he parked in front of a large mansion, almost bigger than Syaoran's back at his home, that he chose to break the silence. "Please, Syaoran-sama, don't spend all your time trying to fool the Card Mistress?" Syaoran turned to him before he got out. "Try to make friends?"

Syaoran looked down. "Sure," he mumbled as he got out of the car. "Bye, Wei. I'll call you when I'm ready to leave." Wei nodded and smiled in goodbye. Syaoran waved. It wasn't long before he was left alone at his first highschool party, ready to fend off any fan girl which came near.

The mansion was booming with music. Every single light was turned on. He could tell because they shone brightly through the windows and into the slightly dark night. After all, it was early evening. Silhouettes of people dancing, mingling, and fooling around could be seen. Soon enough, he'd (hopefully) be one of those people.

He walked up the steps that lead to Tomoyo's front door and knocked. He waited patiently on the other side before someone opened the door. But not for him. With an arm wrapped around two girls, one on either side of him, came a guy he didn't know, but knew attended his school. They didn't even see him as they walked straight passed, looking at anywhere but him.

He raised an eyebrow and ignored the fact that he was already invisible. But it wasn't long before a fan girl would try to pull something...only a matter of time.

He stepped inside the amusingly large house and looked around him. People were everywhere, leaning on walls, sitting on the stairs, lying on couches, etc. The place was decorated quite beautifully with fake flowers, most of them being cherry blossoms, as of course, those were the most noticed flowers which bloomed in spring. Colourful lanterns lined the walls and dangled above his head. The smell of an air freshener of some sort could easily be smelt.

He was only twenty minutes late and yet the place was completely packed. He squeezed passed sweaty bodies, either glued to another person of a different gender or more than one. Girls he didn't even know smiled at him flirtatiously from all different angles of the mansion. Some guys he saw around school and others that he didn't waved at him. He simply nodded back.

"Li-kun?" Someone asked. He turned around and nearly fell over backwards realizing how close that person really was to his face. He groaned inwardly and forced out a reply. It was a fan girl, of course, looking as astonished as ever to see him there. "I didn't know you were invited. If I had known I would've asked you to come with me and my friends..."

"Yeah." He replied shortly.

She didn't hesitate to ask him the burning question which entered her mind the moment she saw him there. "Li-kun, would you like to dance?"

Syaoran was hardly even paying attention to her from the moment she greeted him. He only continued looking in every which way for somebody he knew, someone he'd spoken to. Like Tomoyo, Yamazaki, Sakura even. The second the fan girl began to ask him to dance, his eyes landed on her. The Card Mistress. He couldn't have been more surprised.

At school, she looked like your average high school teenager. She looked like every other girl that attended Seiju High, wearing the same uniform skirt and shirt. But it was because of her beautiful glow that made her stand out. Because of that undeniable glow and what she was currently wearing, she looked even more radiant, which he just couldn't help but admit.

A gold sequined, thick strapped tank top draped over her upper body like a blanket. She made it look so casual, yet so stylish. A black skirt which he could tell was made from silk wrapped itself neatly around her thin waist and hovered just above her knees. A pair of black leather boots and a white chiffon skarf finished up her entire outfit, not only making a fashionable statement but quite the appearance.

Too busy staring, he did not even bother to answer the fan girl's question. She stared at him angrily and waved a hand in front of his face. "Li-kun? Li-kun, did you even hear me?"

He watched as Sakura tapped her fingers above the marble top of one of the tables and sipped from her paper cup. Her head was nodding along to the music and she threw a smile every now and then to anyone that happened to glance her way. He had the perfect chance to go up and speak to her. She was alone.

But not for long.

Another boy with jet black hair and black beady eyes made his way towards Sakura. He looked to be in the same grade as him but did not recognize who he was, so he assumed he came from a different school. With his hands in his pockets and a sly grin plastered across his face, he could tell that his intentions were not good.

The fan girl continued to harass him as he watched the scene unfold before him. He could not make out the words that they were saying to each other but he knew just by looking that Sakura was not impressed with what he was saying. Her face expressions grew from friendly, to annoyed, to completely agitated. He watched her squirm uncomfortably as he snaked an arm around her, trying to bring her closer to him.

Even if she was the enemy, he couldn't just let some random guy do that to a girl. He grew up being taught to treat women with respect, and what he saw he could most definitely not classify as respect.

Leaving the fan girl disappointed and angry, he left her side immediately to tend to Sakura. The longer it took him to get there, the closer the guy inched his face closer towards Sakura's trembling pink lips. She was bringing her own face back as far as she could whilst leaning further and further onto the porcelaine table. Others were far too busy drinking, dancing, or mingling to notice what was going on, or rather, to help Sakura.

The minute he reached her and the guy who he had labelled, The Guy Who Couldn't Get A Clue, he could tell that the sweat was beginning to form on top of her forehead. Her eyes were shut tight in disgust, so she hadn't noticed he was there. The Guy Who Couldn't Get A Clue's eyes were also shut, but only because his lips were puckered and ready to suck face.

"AHEM." He said loudly.

The Guy Who Couldn't Get A Clue turned his head, still leaning dangerously close to Sakura. He raised an eyebrow at Syaoran. "Yeah?" He asked, irritated.

Sakura's eyes snapped open and smiled in relief the moment she layed eyes on him. "What do you think you're doing?" He asked rudely.

"What does it look like I'm doing, man?" He answered back, backing off of Sakura but pulling her closer towards him by hooking his arm more securely around her waist and yanking her roughly against him. She fumed angrily, looking as though she was trying really hard not to hit him. "I'm just trying to have a little fun. Do you mind?"

Syaoran glared at him so hard it was almost like he was squinting. But no one would have ever thought him to be squinting. He looked too angry to be squinting. He placed his hand gently over Sakura's arm and pulled her out of his grasp. But The Guy Who Couldn't Get A Clue placed his own hand over her other arm and squeezed it tightly. Sakura flinched in pain and let out a little, "Ow!"

Syaoran re-labelled him as The Guy Who Was About to Get His Ass Kicked.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Syaoran yelled, squeezing also, except more gently that she didn't feel any pain. "Let go of her arm, she obviously doesn't want to be touched by you."

T.G.W.W.A.T.G.H.A.K. squeezed tighter, causing her to cringe, and roughly pulled her into his arms. Sakura was so taken aback that she didn't know how to react as his arms wrapped themselves tightly and painfully around her waist. The pain could clearly be seen across her face. She dug her nails furiously into his arms and tried to wriggle free. "Let go, that hurts!" She demanded.

Syaoran's glare grew harder. He breathed in deeply before he let out a low growl which instantly frightened The Guy Who Was About to Get His Ass Kicked. "I'm giving you ten seconds to choose. Either you let her go, or I beat the shit out of you." He paused. "Ten."

"I'm so scared." He retorted. But it didn't look like he was lying.

"Nine." He said dangerously. Sakura's eyes widened. Would he really? She didn't doubt it.

"It's not like she's your girlfriend!" He exclaimed, a hint of fear in his voice.

"Seven."

"Look, man, I don't know why you're acting like such an asshole..."

"Three." He took a threatening step towards him.

Sakura could see the sweat forming on his forehead. "You're not scaring me, man!" Bullshit. He was scared as hell. He looked like a little boy who needed his mommy. Badly.

"One." He took his last step towards The Guy Who Was About to Get His Ass Kicked and placed his face just inches in front of Sakura's. "Excuse me," he said politely, but then grapping her shoulders and throwing her gently aside so that she wasn't in the way. The Guy Who Was About to Get His Ass Kicked backed up against the table just as Syaoran raised his fist high into the air, ready to make contact with it's target.

"Don't!" Sakura suddenly shrieked. In mid-punch, Syaoran froze. He looked confusedly over to where Sakura was standing and back to the cowering idiot. "Just leave him alone...please, Li-kun. It's not even worth it."

He hesitated before lowering his arm. The pleading look in Sakura's eyes seemed to calm him, which only worked as a bonus for the guy he now called The Guy Who Just Nearly Escaped A Beating. Syaoran breathed in slowly and looked over at him. The fear left from his face, only to be replaced by a smug look. He shrugged his shoulders backwards a countless number of times, as if he'd never broken a sweat.

"I knew you wouldn't do it, man," he said smugly, "you can talk the talk but sure as hell can't walk the walk."

Syaoran gave him one last glare and motioned towards Sakura, who now looked quite grateful. But before fully joining her, he turned around so quickly that no one had the time to register his movement. He grabbed T.G.W.J.N.E.A.B. by the collar of his shirt and lifted him like he weighed nothing.

"If I see you go near her, or any other girl like that again, you'll have the displeasure of experiencing me - " he smirked, "walk the walk."

He dropped him on the floor where he landed in a heap. He scrambled up to his knees and broke out into a sprint for the door. Both Sakura and Syaoran watched as he threw the front door open and slam it shut as others looked at him perplexedly. No one had even noticed what was going on. Lucky Syaoran was there for her.

Sakura sighed and smiled. "Thank you, thank you so much." She said, "You saved..." she stopped before she finished her sentence. She looked up into his amber eyes apologetically. "Sorry, Li-kun...I must be such a hassle. I'm sorry you've had to take care of me so much."

The thought of him taking care of her as if he was a bodyguard made him blush slightly. Thankfully, she hadn't noticed. "No problem," he answered truthfully, as the two began to walk around the mansion together, "guys like him tick me off. Who was he, by the way?" He asked conversationally.

"Oh," Sakura said, rolling her eyes, "he comes from Tuyien High, our rival school. Every year for every warm up party, a group of people from our rival school always crashes. We never do anything about it because we do the same to them."

"Oh." He said. "Um...are you okay?" He asked.

She nodded. "Yeah, I'm okay. He was just a little aggressive..." he saw her try to sneak her arm behind her back, as if wanting to hide it.

He eyed her suspiciously. "Let me see it." He demanded.

Sakura shook her head and waved her free hand. "It's nothing, I'm fine." She insisted, hiding it further behind her back. She tried smiling at him but he wasn't buying it. He continued asking to see it and she too continued saying that she was perfectly alright. Nothing was wrong. And still, he remained persistent.

"If nothing is wrong, can I please see your arm?" He asked politely, yet irritatedly.

"Li-kun, give me a break..." she said shyly, "it's okay, really..."

"Kinomoto," he said. He held out his hand and wiggled his fingers. Sighing frustratedly and rolling her eyes, she placed her arm into his soft palm. He turned her arm over and shook his head disapprovingly. There, staining her perfect porcelain white skin, were finger bruises. He knew that jackass had held her too tightly.

"Jerk..." he muttered beneath his breath, examining the bruises. "How badly does it hurt?"

"Not that much," she replied quickly, taking her arm back and letting it fall to her side.

"Liar." He said, immediately after.

She groaned. "Okay, okay. But it's fine, just leave it alone,"

Without thinking, he took her other arm in his hand gently. That same electric shock they'd both felt the other day came shooting out through his palm and into her arm. He instantly let go, staring stupidly down at his hand as if it fascinated him. "Sorry..." he mumbled apologetically, just in case she felt it too.

"No, it's okay..." she replied.

Slowly this time, he replaced his hand over her arm. No shock came. Mentally sighing in relief, he squeezed it gently and tugged her up Tomoyo's winding stairs where lots of people chose to do their mingling. "Where is Daidouji's nearest bathroom upstairs?" He asked, pulling her onto the landing and stepping over a currently making out couple.

"Just over here," she answered, taking the lead.

She opened the door to it and stepped inside. Syaoran followed after. It was tiny and a little cramped, but it still looked nice, none the less. The mirror was lined with lit up light bulbs and the bathroom table top was also marble. The toilet was sparkling with shine, as if nobody's ass had ever sat on it.

"You don't have to do this," Sakura stated, "I'm fine. Honestly."

He shook his head, opening a medecine cabinet. He reached for a bruising ointment and unbottled it. White-ish liquidy cream was found inside and it smelled a little rancid. "That jerk held you so tight he left bruises. I've had experience with bruises, Kinomoto. You're not fine, trust me." He dipped two fingers inside and began wiping it over the bruises.

As Syaoran stood, Sakura chose to sit on the counter. He treated her in silence for the first few minutes of rubbing. He was too busy thinking of something clever to say to speak. He couldn't possibly just ask her, out of the blue, "What are your weaknesses and what are your strengths?" just randomly. He needed to start out casual.

"So..." he said quietly, "where's Daidouji?"

Sakura giggled. "Probably somewhere private with Eriol-kun."

"Uh...those two a couple or something?" He asked. Did he even need to? It looked pretty obvious to him...

"No, actually, they aren't," she replied, as she began to swing her feet back and forth. "Tomoyo's just got this incredibly large crush on him. We heard through the grape vines that he just so happens to have one on her, too. They're just spending a lot of time together, trying to get the other to confess first."

He raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, it's pretty weird, isn't it?"

"Yeah, pretty weird..." he agreed.

"That was always Tomoyo-chan's weakness," she said amusedly. His head flicked up almost immediately, but luckily for him she hadn't noticed. Weaknesses. He didn't even have to bring it up at all, she did it for him. She was just making this way too easy. All he had to do now was just try and keep the conversation flowing about weakness, and then somehow steer it to hers.

"Weakness, huh?" He said after a while. "What is Daidouji's?"

Sakura smiled, as if talking about Tomoyo was something she just loved to do. "Well, Tomoyo-chan wasn't always the great performer that she is." She explained, "I was the only one who knew she had such an incredible singing voice. One time, I got her to try out for the school choir. She hadn't expected to do so well. She got herself a solo in their next production."

"Boy, was she ever scared. You see, that's Tomoyo-chan's weakness. She's really, really, very shy. She had the biggest case of stage fright I'd ever seen. Worse than mine. But I wouldn't let her back out of the performance. I told her, either you sing on that stage or I never speak to you again." I widened my eyes. "I was kidding, of course. She knew that."

"After that one performance, it was like her weakness vanished. No more shy Tomoyo. Whenever someone asks her to sing, she sings. But then Eriol-kun came along and then we were back at square one. She could hardly ever speak when he was around. And when she realized she was in love with him, she couldn't even stand to be in his presence because she was so shy!"

She looked over to Syaoran, who was listening intently, and her face fell. "Oh, I'm so sorry...you've already finished on my arm. I must be rambling. Let's get out of here."

He shook his head. He needed her to keep talking in order to find out her weakness. "No, no. Continue, please. I'm interested, really."

She continued with hesitation. "Well, if you insist...we were talking to Chihahru-chan when she told us that Eriol-kun told Yamazaki-kun that he had a really big crush on Tomoyo-chan. Then she let spill to Chihahru-chan, and of course, Chihahru-chan told her boyfriend, and her boyfriend let Eriol-kun know...so basically, they knew their feelings for the other, but don't want to be the first to confess."

Syaoran was a little surprised. Teenagers were so stupid when it came to this thing they called "love." He was grateful he was yet to experience it. "How long has this been going on?" He asked.

"Almost a year now," Sakura replied, making room for him on the counter. "That's one big weakness of Tomoyo's, don't you think?"

He glanced over to the corner of the bathroom and asked quietly. "So...uh, what would you say is _your_ biggest wea - "

"There you two are!" The bathroom door burst open only to reveal a beautiful Tomoyo, dressed in a long black gown, her hair pulled back into a tight bun with the occasional strand of hair falling from her forehead. "I've been looking everywhere for you. One of your fan girls said you were here and now they're _all_ looking for you."

Syaoran groaned.

"Sakura-chan, someone said that they saw that jerk from Tuyien High hit on you. Did he really?" Sakura blushed and nodded slowly. "That idiot! I told my guards to make sure no one from that school came in, only if they were girls, because we all know what jerks the guys from that school can be...are you alright, Sakura-chan?"

She nodded again. "Yeah, I'm fine." She smiled brightly at Syaoran. "Li-kun took care of me."

Syaoran looked at Tomoyo's face to see her reaction, and there it was again. That mischevious twinkle which seemed to unnerve him to no end. If only he knew what it meant. "Come on downstairs, you two. That's where all the fun is." She motioned for them to leave the bathroom but none of them budged.

"Daidouji, can't I just stay in here for a while? I don't want to go out when all those crazy girls are looking for me..."

She frowned. "Uh, Tomoyo-chan," Sakura piped, "I don't want to go downstairs, either. It was boring there without you, anyway. I could just stay in here with Li-kun. Keep him company," she suggested. Tomoyo's frown then suddenly changed into a large grin which Syaoran also didn't like. It matched too nicely with the mischevious twinkle in her eye...

"Of course, of course! You two stay in here. Just come down and get some food if you get hungry, okay?" She didn't even bothe waiting for a response. In less than a second, the door had been shut and once again, the two were left alone.

Sakura turned and threw another bright smile in Syaoran's direction. "Haven't got a clue yet, have they?" She asked, talking about the fan girls.

"Never will," he answered truthfully, making Sakura laugh.

That night, the topic of weaknesses never came up. Neither did strengths. Instead, Syaoran and Sakura spent the duration of the party together, talking about anything but. They spoke about themselves, their family members, their childhoods. Syaoran remained vague about his, but was able to let her know how painful it was for him growing up.

That night, neither of them even went downstairs to get any food. They were all too busy in a universe of their own, talking and learning about each other. The flow of their conversation never seemed to reach an end. Just as they'd thought it was about time to head downstairs, they'd always come up with a new topic and start again from there.

That night, they hadn't let anyone inside that bathroom. It was only the two of them. Not Syaoran Li the tight ass jerk, and nor was it Sakura Kinomoto the Card Mistress.

Just Syaoran and Sakura.

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**Finally, an update. Hope you guys are still keeping patient, I'm amazed I even found the time to write this. Your support always fuels me to do more, though :). Read and review!**

Signing Off,  
Agent08 - _My life as a secret agent_ xD


	8. The Out of Body Experience

**Agent08 Reporting for Duty!**

Now on with chapter eight!

**Saving Syaoran**

_The Out of Body Experience_

I. Am. Such. A. Damn. Idiot. Those were the exact thoughts of Syaoran Li, the minute he got home from the Spring Formal Warm Up. The entire damn night, he tried a grand total of one time, trying to ask Sakura on her weaknesses and strengths. He didn't know what happened! One minute they were talking about Tomoyo's greatest weakness, and then his family, and then his hobbies...

He was supposed to be having an interrogation! Not a _conversation_. He could tell the difference!

The rest of the weekend Syaoran spent doing his homework and forming a stragety of some sort. A strategic conversation, he called it. Unlike the night of the Spring Formal Warm Up, he would not stray away from the topic of conversation - her weakness and strengths. He would begin casual conversation and once again, steer it towards that subject.

He would find out those particular characteristics about her if it killed him.

It was only talking to a girl, for God's sakes. He just had to ignore the fact that she was actually an all powerful sorceress with the ability to control fifty-two magical cards...how hard could it be, right?

Monday morning, he looked at himself hard in the mirror, slapping the sides of his cheeks once or twice to get him into his zone. What a moron, right? He only ever did that before an athletic competition of some sort, not before he spoke to a girl. But he _needed_ to get into his calming zone if he needed to reach his goal.

He waved goodbye to Wei and marched out of his apartment, going over the strategic conversation in his head. He would begin at Point A.

Point A) Say hello, wait for her response.

Point B) Begin casual conversation - perhaps talk about Saturday night's events?

Point C) Mention Tomoyo's greatest weakness.

Point D) Ask her _her's_.

Dorky, right? But it was bound to work. How could it _not_ work? It was so...strategic.

Oh God, he was really starting to lose it, wasn't he?

Kicking a pebble every now and then to distract him from his own thoughts that ridiculed him for being such an idiot, he lifted his head and saw the school building. Like always, he was early. But he was never the only one waiting for the teacher to arrive in the classroom. Like Tomoyo. Without a doubt, she'd be waiting in there, ready to spring him with questions of all sorts.

Changing into a different pair of shoes and storing his things inside his locker (his combination now fully mastered), he walked silently towards homeroom. Yamazaki came into step with him and said hello. Chihahru then joined the two as her boyfriend snaked an arm around her waist. He nodded to both of them.

"I didn't see you at the party last night, man," Yamazaki said. "I thought Daidouji-san invited you?"

"She did," he replied simply.

"What, you couldn't go?" He asked.

Chihahru shook her head so that her pigtails went flying. "No, Yamazaki! Didn't you hear? He came - how could you not notice with all his fan girls looking for him?" She rolled her eyes, remembering how all of them had scrambled to their feet in search for him. "Didn't you also hear how he took care of that Tuyien High guy for Sakura-chan?"

Syaoran's cheeks grew warm. "You heard about that?" He asked.

"Sure did!" Chihahru chirped, "Sakura sure is lucky you moved here."

Syaoran shrugged in response, hoping to look indifferent, but the glow in his cheeks gave him away. What was he blushing about? He had no reason to, whatsoever. If only the heat in his cheeks would disappear.

Yamazaki and Chihahru sped up ahead of him towards homeroom. He kept his pace slow, glad to be out of their presence so he could go over the strategic conversation again in his head, and to contemplate more about Sakura. He refrained from using the sentence "_think_ more about Sakura," for obvious reasons. Somethings were starting to happen to him, and he simply didn't want to admit it.

He entered the classroom, and just as he'd suspected, Tomoyo was sitting at his desk, her eyes filled with curiousity. He sighed before closing the door and walked over to his desk, setting his things down. He took his seat, sighed again, and looked her squarely in the eye, matching her seriousness with his own.

"What do you want to know?" He asked, knowing what she'd be asking.

"You like my best friend." Tomoyo answered, ignoring his question altogether.

Taken aback by her sudden statement, Syaoran kept his mouth shut. He was not prepared for such an accusation. He only thought that she'd be beating around the bush at the same time asking questions about how he'd spent the night with Sakura. He never thought she'd be so blunt about things.

To avoid answering, Syaoran recomposed himself and set his jaw in place, just in case she said something else he didn't like and it felt like dropping down to the floor. "You like Eriol Hirrigazawa." He stated himself.

Tomoyo's eyes widened slowly, as if not able to believe her ears. Her cheeks grew just as red as his were just minutes ago, whilst she quickly looked away. She opened her mouth, as if to retort, but closed it again. Then, after a few moments of silence, she said slowly, "That's none of your business."

"I could say the same thing to you." He challenged.

"That's different!" She said, "Sakura's my _best_ friend."

Syaoran rolled his eyes and looked away. "I don't see how that makes a difference."

"It makes all the difference in the world," she huffed, "it's my job to stick my nose into business that isn't my own." He ignored her, hoping that she'd drop the subject. But he didn't know Tomoyo. She was a very determined girl. "What do you like about Sakura so much, anyway?" She asked curiously.

"I don't!" He replied, just a little too quickly.

She raised her eyebrows at him. "Answer truthfully."

Truthfully? Truthful to the point of when he'd literally have to bang his forehead multiple times against a concrete wall? Truthfully...he was frustrated. Frustrated with Sakura Kinomoto. What she was capable of doing to him, no other girl was ever able to do. No other girl on the planet could get him thinking about them like she could.

No other girl could get him to blush like a maniac for such an insignificant reason. No other girl could make him feel such irrational jealousy. No other girl could have him memorize the way their laugh sounded, without even asking him too. No other girl could make him stutter like an idiot whenever they'd be around.

No other girl in the whole entire green earth could make him fall as fast as he did for her, in just four days!

Four days! Holy _shit_.

But it wasn't like he fell for a complete stranger. In the last four days, it was like he'd spent every waking minute with her. There was that unbelievable first day at school when he saved her life the first time, was given a tour by her, then was stuck in a closet with her. Yeah, that was a pretty darned weird first day.

Then there was the Spring Formal Warm Up, where he also saved her from being slobbered all over by a guy she barely even knew, and then spent the rest of the night with her talking about both their lives as they listened interestedly as to what the other had to say. Also another pretty darned weird day.

Oh yeah, and then there was the second day at school in which he spent half his lunch hour watching (yes, _watching_, not spying) on her, saving her life again although he was the one that endangered it that time, and -

_Aw_ _fuck_.

He also spent half of his lunch hour discovering that she - she being Sakura, the girl he was pretty damn sure he was in love with - was the mistress of the magical cards that HE was supposed to challenge her for. _Aw fuck_ times two.

His thoughts were interrupted when the devil herself had come bursting into the classroom in a fit of gasps and apologies. He'd never gotten to answer Tomoyo's question, which was okay with him. Sure, he had admitted it to himself (about damn time, too) but he wasn't ready to admit it to anyone else, although he was pretty sure he didn't have to in Tomoyo's case.

"Hi everyone!" Sakura chirped cheerfully.

Those who passed waved at her in greeting. Tomoyo joined her happily, linking arms with her and walking back to her table. The bell sounded loudly just as Sakura's petite ass made contact with her chair. Terada-sensei entered the classroom at that time, right on cue, and set his suitcase down onto the floor.

"Morning, everyone." He said.

"Goodmorning," the class recited.

"Only a few announcements today..." he stated, flipping through some papers atop the podium. He got on with them quickly, informing the class about things such as the upcoming senior class camping field trip. "All of you have handed in your permission slips, correct?" He looked to the class for a response.

"Yes!" They answered in unison.

"Sensei," one student piped up, "the field trip isn't for so long. Why did you hand out the permission slips so early?" She asked.

"There are three senior classes in this school," he said as a matter-of-factly, "Twenty-seven to thirty of you in each class. It will be a lot to handle for just three chaperones, and lots of things must be booked and taken care of, so the staff and I decided to do things earlier. Does that answer your question?"

"Yes, sensei."

"Anymore questions about the field trip?"

"How will you assign us to our cabins?" Another student asked.

"To make it easier for us, we be grouping you with people from within your homerooms, with some special exceptions."

Sounds of outrage and joy were heard throughout the classroom. Terada-sensei shushed them back to their quietness.

"Can boys sleep in the same cabins and girls?" A moronic male student asked slyly. Some girls rolled their eyes, the majority of the males in the classroom laughed and leaned in for a high five. Syaoran, however, blushed at the thought of sleeping in the same room as Sakura.

Terada-sensei kept his cool and shushed the class again. "No, there will be no co-ed groups whatsoever."

Once again, the majority of the males in the classroom groaned in displeasure.

Another bell sounded signalling the end of homeroom, and then the students were off to their first class. Syaoran gathered his things and walked with the others who would be in his next class to the other classroom. He and Yamazaki walked together again, entering the english classroom without a sound.

Sakura walked passed him, straight to her seat, and smiled at him. To his utmost embarrassment, he blushed, yet again. Instead of responding, he turned the other way and avoided her eyes.

Scaredy cat.

That's how he spent most of the entire period, staring straight ahead of him, his eyes boring into the back of the person sitting in front of him. Of course, he didn't bother paying attention as Mitaya-sensei began the lesson. The book they were currently discussing he had already read, which he had to point out, as the teacher noticed his lack of interest.

"Falling asleep, Li-kun?" She asked mockingly.

"No, Mitaya-sensei." He answered.

"Is the book not interesting enough for you?" This time her tone was serious.

"No, Mitaya-sensei. The book was very interesting," he lied. He was forced to read the book by his mother at an earlier age. He hated it. "But I've already read it." He said.

"You have, have you?" She circled him, as if interrogating him. However, he remained unphased. "Everybody, turn to page one hundred forty-two and begin reading the last paragraph, please." The faint sound of pages being turned could easily be heard in the quietness of the room. "Allow me to read aloud..."

"_It had all happened very quickly. I had been walking home from work to the bust stop, like I always do after my shift is over, passing by the same dreary alleyway that stunk of garbage and rotting food. As I walked quickly passed, hoping to avoid that horrid stench, I heard the scream of a woman. My head turned, only to see that she was being held tightly by the neck, a man reaching out for her purse._"

We all turned the page.

"_My thoughts raced, the pace of my heart increasing by a million. Without thinking, my mouth had opened. 'Stop!' I cried out. The man's grip loosened from the woman's throat, his eyes widening in fear. 'I...I have a cell phone!' I stuttered incompetently, 'I've just called the police! They're coming right now!' Of course I hadn't. But what else could I have said to make him run away?_"

"_The man sprinted passed me, leaving the woman and I unscathed. The woman fell to her knees in a fit of sobs, her purse clutched tightly in her shaking hands. I jogged up to her, taking her in my arms. As I soothed her, the thought of what I had just done came floating to my head._"

"_An out of body experience, that's what I called it. From my knowledge, most people experience it when suffering from pain they've never felt before, or when they've done something they didn't even _think_ about doing, but knew they had to, or wanted to. It was the very first time it had happened to me. The only time it ever happened to me._"

The teacher stopped reading, the class muttering things beneath their breath about what they had just read. "That's cool!" One student breathed out quietly, but loud enough for most of the class to hear.

"Cool indeed," Mitaya-sensei agreed, walking up to the chalkboard. Apparently, she had heard, too. "Out of body experiences, class." She said, "Who here has experienced one of those?"

No one rose up their hand.

"I see." She said. "Well, that's understandable. You all are much too young to have experienced one of those before." Grabbing a piece of chalk, she wrote out the term in capital letters across the board and underlined it. "Out of body experiences are exactly what they sound like. An experience which you feel happens to you when you are out of your body. Like you're watching it happen to you."

Syaoran rolled his eyes.

"The main character of our story, Hiro, is also right. Most out of body experiences occur when suffering from immense pain, or when you act without thinking. Out of body experiences can be very common, and yet, uncommon. It's a wonderful feeling to experience such a thing, but of course, I wouldn't know. I, too, have never experienced one of those before."

Syaoran muttered something beneath his breath. Out of body experiences, huh?

Was the class supposed to believe this load of crock? Honestly. Out of body experiences? Sounds like something straight out of a Harlequin novel when a girl is doing the nasty. It would never, ever happen to him, he was sure of it. Syaoran never acted upon something if he didn't analyze it from every possible angle. And pain? _Pfffft_. Syaoran could handle pain.

Once again, what a load of crock.

**_xxxxxx_**

Lunch break came soon enough, freeing Syaoran from all his boring classes. He shoved his books inside his locker, not bothering to get his lunch, because as always, he was not hungry. He was then joined by Yamazaki, who he was now growing used to, both as a leech, and surprisingly enough, as a friend.

"Eating lunch with us?" He asked.

"Sure." Syaoran replied. He didn't mind eating lunch with them, now. He'd rather spend the lunch hour with them than with anybody else.

They went to the courtyard, this time to different cherry blossom tree, though he didn't know how you could tell the difference. They were all tall, sturdy, and in full bloom. But he thought it was something they were trying to accomplish before the end of the school year - eat lunch underneath every cherry blossom tree in the courtyard before the year ends. It sounded kind of fun.

"Where is everybody?" Yamazaki asked when he and Syaoran arrived at their latest cherry blossom tree. Within it's protective shade sat only Chihahru.

"Rika-chan said she'd be a little late joining us for lunch because she needed to ask Terada-sensei some questions about our homework." Chihahru also answered, "Tomoyo-chan is at a choir meeting, Eriol-kun is helping out at the office like he always does, but...I don't know where Sakura-chan could be, though."

"Oh. Okay." Syaoran and Yamazaki shrugged it off and sat down. As the couple did their gross little couple things, Syaoran kept to himself, looking away never they kissed or whatever. It was uncomfortable for him. Just a few minutes later, they were joined by Sakura.

"Hi, guys!" She said cheerfully. Syaoran's head immediately flicked up, his face growing hot. Hopefully they'd all think it was because of the sun or something. "Chihahru-chan, where were you? I was expecting you at the cheerleading meeting." She questioned seriously. Being captain of the squad, he guessed she had to be.

Chihahru's hand went flying to her mouth. "There was a meeting? I missed it? Oh man, I'm so sorry, Sakura-chan!" She apologized.

Sakura smiled, "Oh, it's alright, Chihahru-chan. You didn't miss a lot. But we have new uniforms."

"New uniforms, wow."

Sakura nodded. "You better go get yours right now. They're in our usual meeting room, the door should still be unlocked. Your name is on yours." She instructed, taking a seat beside Syaoran. The heat in his face grew hotter as he felt their skin make contact. He shuffled away quickly.

"Right." Chihahru stood up and dusted herself off, taking her lunch with her. "Yamazaki-kun, come with me?"

"Sure thing," he agreed, following suit.

"W - Wait!" Syaoran said loudly, realizing that it would only be he and Sakura if the other two left. Yamazaki and Chihahru turned around. "U - Uh..." he racked his brain for an excuse as to why one of them should stay. Of course, he couldn't think of one. "Um..." he sighed, "nevermind. Go on."

The two shrugged and walked off, hand in hand.

Syaoran's eyes narrowed shyly, his eyes looking anywhere but into Sakura's. She hummed quietly to herself, opening up her lunch and eating it. She looked at him curiously. "Aren't you hungry, Li-kun? Want me to share?" She asked sweetly.

He shook his head vigorously. "Uh, n - no. No. That's okay, th - thanks, though."

She smiled. "Of course."

He laughed nervously. Turning his head, he began to think. So what if he was supposedly in love with the girl sitting next to him? He still had a mission to accomplish. Right then and there was the perfect time to launch the strategic conversation. "S - So, Kinomoto-san..." he said quietly, "Uh...some party the other night, huh?" He asked.

Skipped Point A and went straight to Point B.

She laughed. "Yeah, it was pretty fun."

"The Spring Formal Warm Up...we got pretty warmed up, don't you think?" He asked lamely. Aw fuck. What a messed up question!

Sakura didn't seem to be weirded out by it. Instead, she laughed.

"Uh...uh..."

Point C. Point C. Point C. Point C. Get your ass to Point C, Syaoran!

Suddenly, the colour left Syaoran's face. His eyes, which he'd allowed to stare intently into Sakura's, left from him. His mind became blank as he felt his body weight dissolve into nothing. He suddenly felt as light as a feather. The lighter he became, it seemed, the higher he floated into the air. Higher and higher, until he was finally looking down on himself, watching the scene unfold from before him...

"Would you like to be my date for the Spring Formal?"

_What the fuck did he just say?_

Out from his body, he watched Sakura's face freeze. Her angelic features seemed to become as hard as a rock as the smile from her face suddenly vanished. Her pale cheeks went from fair white to bright pink. He saw his own face, staring back at her, his eyes and face just as unreadable as her own.

"Sure." She squeaked. "I'd love to be your date."

Out of body experiences?

What a load of _true_ crock.

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**I'm not dead, just lazy. Please review!**

Signing Off,  
Agent08 - _My life as a secret agent_ xD


	9. The Passing Days

**Agent08 Reporting for Duty!**

Now on with chapter nine!

**Saving Syaoran**

_The Passing Days_

Lower and lower Syaoran dropped until he was back inside his body, no longer looking at the scene before him, but taking part in it himself. Did he hear correctly? Had he really just asked Sakura Kinomoto, his supposed enemy, to the Spring Formal in three weeks? Did she really just accept his invitation?

Blinking once, he asked, "What?"

Shifting uncomfortably and putting away her lunch - probably because she'd lost her appetite, she answered, "I said I'd love too." She said it in such a tiny voice, as if she was too embarrased to say it again. But he soon contradicted his thoughts on this as she turned her head towards him and smiled that signature smile of hers, "It'll be fun if we went together."

"You're...you're not going with someone else already?" Syaoran interrogated, still refusing to believe his ears.

"No," Sakura giggled, shaking her head. "I could ask you the same thing. None of your fan girls have asked you to go with them yet?"

He too, shook his head, getting used to the flow of their conversation. "No, none yet. They probably think it's still too early." Afterall, the dance was in three weeks, falling after the senior class field trip. Lots of events were to happen in the following days. He wondered how things would unfold.

**_xxxxxx_**

_Two days later..._

News of Syaoran and Sakura's date for the Spring Formal spread like wild fire. Sakura, at first, had only told Tomoyo, and as excited as Tomoyo was because of her best friend's date, she still hadn't told anybody. In fact, it was Syaoran and Sakura themselves who told others about their date. Not that they were bragging, but rejecting, actually.

"Syaoran-kun," a fan girl screeched, running towards him just two days after he asked Sakura.

He was at his locker, grabbing the things he needed for his next class. "Li," he corrected, walking the opposite way from her.

The fan girl's face faltered for just a moment, but before he knew it, her flirtacious smile was back and beaming. She cleared her throat, ready for a new start. "Right. Li-kun. I was wondering, if, maybe, you'd like to be my date for the Spring Formal?" His head turned to look at her. Her eyes were hopeful.

As much as he hated fan girls, he didn't want to hurt her feelings.

"Thanks for asking. But I can't." He answered, trying to sound as sincere as possible.

This time, the fan girl's face truly faltered and stayed that way. Her bottom lip trembled. "W - What? But - but why?"

"I just can't," he answered simply, shrugging his shoulders. "Thanks for asking, again." He added, just so he wouldn't sound like a complete jerk.

He began to walk, but the fan girl stuck right by him, following him. "Are you already going with someone else?" She demanded, her face now angry.

Syaoran sighed. Well, he might as well tell her, right? Everyone was bound to know, sooner or later, he knew that. And it would only be best if all the other fan girls knew, so he wouldn't have to do the mean job of rejecting them all. "Yeah, I am," he answered truthfully, hoping that she would accept that answer.

She didn't. She stopped him from walking again. "Who!" She yelled. Luckily they were the only two in the hallway. Class had already begun, and he was late just because of this stupid matter.

"Sakura Kinomoto-san."

Her eyes grew wide, her jaw falling to the floor. Syaoran decided that he wanted to get out of there before she exploded, but of course, the fan girl couldn't and wouldn't get the message, like most of them. "Did I hear you right?" She asked incredulously, stopping him again. "Sakura Kinomoto-san is your date?"

"Yes, she is." He answered roughly, now thoroughly annoyed. "Bye."

He stalked off to his last class before lunch, leaving the fan girl rooted to the spot, staring dumbfoundedly after him. He shook his head. Was that so hard to believe? Yeah, Sakura Kinomoto was his date for the Spring Formal. If one person said it enough times, it wouldn't sound that unbelievable...

Who was he kidding? It _was_ unbelievable that she was his date.

It appeared that more people agreed with him than he thought. When the lunch hour came, he was joined at his locker by Yamazaki. Though his eyes remained closed, he too was just as surprised. "Kinomoto-san is your date for the Spring Formal?" He asked, not wanting to sound too shocked, for the sake of his friend.

"Yeah, she is." He answered flatly.

"How'd you manage to do that?"

Syaoran raised an eyebrow and began walking with Yamazaki to their normal lunch spot. "Easy, I just opened my mouth and asked her, and then she opened her mouth and accepted." Okay, so it wasn't as easy as he'd made it sound, but he didn't want to make a big deal out of it. He already had more than enough attention on his plate.

Yamazaki ignored his sarcasm. "Come to the washroom with me?" He asked.

"We're not girls, Yamazaki. We don't need other people to come with us to the washroom." He said, rolling his eyes.

"Just come," Yamazaki insisted. If he ever opened his eyes, Syaoran knew he'd be rolling them, too.

They entered the bathroom, only to see that they were the only ones to be using it. Syaoran didn't need to go, so he leaned against a wall and turned his eyes away as Yamazaki began doing his business. Then, they heard two voices. Two voices in the stall, Syaoran realized just seconds after, seeing the feet underneath the stalls.

"Man," one guy scoffed from within one of the three stalls, "that Li Syaoran guy is really getting on my nerves."

Syaoran and Yamazaki's heads turned to each other. Yamazaki quietly zipped his pants and they both walked over to the sink. To sort of tell the two guys in the stalls that someone else was present, so they might want to stop talking, he turned on the sink loudly and began washing his hands. But they continued their conversation.

"What's he done?" The guy in the other stall asked.

"I was the first guy to ask Sakura-san to the Spring Formal, and she turns me down. And you know why? Because she said she already had a group date with her friends. And then later today, I hear she agrees to go because of that stupid kid, Li Syaoran?" Syaoran's own eyes widened. Really?

"Maybe she just wanted to turn you down lightly?" The other guy suggested.

The first guy scoffed again. "Don't kid me, man. She's under this Li Syaoran kid's spell, just like every other girl in this school." Neither of them spoke for a moment or two, until he said, "Kinomoto Sakura-san and Syaoran Li-san. Crazy, huh?"

At that moment, after he dried his hands, Yamazaki took Syaoran by the elbow and dragged him out of the bathroom. He was shaking his head, a frown on his face. "Don't listen to them, man, that was just stupid talk." Syaoran appreciated that he was coming to his defense, but it wasn't needed. He wasn't offended.

"It's okay," he assured his friend, "they're not the only people who think that our date to the Spring Formal is crazy." He gave Yamazaki a look which he knew he could see through his eyelids.

"Hey...I didn't think you'd take that as an insult."

"I don't," Syaoran insisted, "but...you know, Sakura's kind of the girl that's too good to go on dates. And you know, as much fan girls as I have, I'm not really experienced in this particular area of...girls. Maybe this isn't such a good idea?" He confided, without thinking. He'd been doing that a lot lately, he noticed.

"Don't sweat it," Yamazaki said airily, as they continued to walk back to the courtyard. "Is that the only thing on your mind, though? It sounds like there's more to this date that's bothering you,"

Syaoran looked at him. Was it really that obvious that he was using the fact that he was inexperienced as an excuse to not go on the date with her? He couldn't possibly reveal the truth - that she was actually his enemy, and that he was supposed to be challenging her for a deck of magical cards in just a matter of weeks.

He couldn't possibly confide all this to Yamazaki. He shouldn't have let their friendship get that far...it seemed he was making a lot of mistakes in the passed few days. "Nevermind."

**_xxxxxx_**

_The next day..._

Syaoran had kept to himself the rest of yesterday. And he planned on doing just that from now on. Like I said, he shouldn't have let his and Yamazaki's friendship get that far. He was getting too distracted from his mission. So he chose to sit somewhere else for lunch, hoping to avoid anyone who tried to make nice with him.

"Where are you going?" Yamazaki asked when Syaoran left his side at the courtyard.

"Just going to sit somewhere else this lunch." He answered.

Yamazaki shrugged and continued to walk to where the rest of his friends were sitting. He smiled and took his seat beside his girlfriend. Tomoyo and Eriol waved to him at his arrival, and as did Sakura, although she was distracted. Whilst waving, she was leaning to one side, to get a better look at Syaoran. Why was he not sitting with them?

"Where is Li-kun going?" She asked, staring at his retreating back.

"To sit somewhere else for lunch. Don't ask me why," he shrugged.

The group began their normal conversation, talking about the day's events so far, and what homework they would be having to do later in the night. Sakura, however, continued staring at Syaoran. He was sitting cross legged in the shade of another cherry blossom, a few feet away from them. His fingers were rubbing his temples, as if he was frustrated. No one seemed to notice that she was watching him, other than Tomoyo.

"Uh, excuse me one sec, guys," Sakura mumbled, dusting the grass off of her skirt.

"Where are you going?" Tomoyo asked, though she knew full well.

"Just have to do something." She answered.

Everyone nodded, continuing with their conversation, but Tomoyo was not convinced. She watched as Sakura slowly made her way towards Syaoran, who seemed to be in a very rough state of mind. She wondered what they could possibly speak about...

**_xxxxxx_**

Syaoran did not notice Sakura's arrival. He was too busy thinking about what he had done, three days ago. He had admitted to himself that he fell in love with his enemy. And what more, invited her to be his date for the upcoming Spring Formal. What was the matter with him? He was being so selfish, choosing what he wanted over what he knew he had to do.

But maybe he really wasn't in love with her? Maybe this was just some sort of infatuation. It was impossible he could fall so fast in love in just four days. If he was lucky, he was just not thinking straight. But then again, how _could_ he think straight, when for the passed eight days now, he's been thinking about Sakura...

"Hi, Li-kun," a quiet voice said, a few paces away from him.

He lifted his head and saw her, standing in the brightness of the sun, literally making her glow. Then something unexpected happened - he _smiled_. That never happened before. All she could make him do was stutter like an idiot, blush like a moron, and laugh like a mental person. Never before had she made him smile - excluding that one time with Wei, the day before the Spring Formal. She wasn't really _with_ him that time. This time she was.

"Hi." He replied.

"Mind if I sit down?" She asked.

He made room for her beside him in the shade of the cherry blossom tree in reply. She, too smiled and sat beside him. They remained silent for a while, not knowing what to say. Well, for Syaoran at least. His mind was at a complete blank. Sakura was supposed to be the talkative one, the one that never ran out of things to say.

It seemed like a lot of things were changing.

"So," he said.

"So." She echoed quietly. "Are you mad?"

He turned his head away from her. "No. Just...frustrated. Kind of."

In an even smaller voice than before, the smallest voice he'd ever heard her use, she asked, "With me?"

He shook his head back and forth vigorously. Frustrated with her? Yeah, sure he was a few days ago, but that didn't last for long. It was like he never could with her. "No, not frustrated with you. No," he assured her. He watched as a slow smile crept up on her face. "Why would I be frustrated with you?" He hoped she wasn't a mind reader and didn't know that his mind was practically always on her.

"I don't know..." she answered honestly, "you didn't speak to me at all yesterday, and you didn't wave back at me during homeroom or english. You don't regret asking me to the Spring Formal, do you? Because if you do, you don't have to feel obligated to take me, I don't mind if you suddenly don't want - "

That would've made his job much more easier to do. If he cut off all ties with her and refused to take her to the dance, then challenging her for the cards would be much, much easier to accomplish. But no, he had to go off acting without thinking again, and say, "Of course I still want to take you. It's not that at all."

What an_ idiot_.

"Then what are you frustrated with?" She asked curiously.

Tell her the _real_ problem? Tell her that he was having difficulty challenging her for her magical cards because he thought he was falling in love with her? Hell _no_. So, he quickly made up an excuse that was also frustrating him, but not as much as the actual problem. "I'm having a hard time making friends." He answered.

"What?" She asked, "What do you mean? Yamazaki-kun isn't being a jerk to you, is he?"

"No, no," he said quickly, "it's not that. In fact, it's the opposite. Yamazaki is being a great guy. But...it's hard to explain." He paused for a moment to think of a simple way to tell Sakura. "You remember the night of the Spring Formal Warm Up, when I told you about my childhood?" He asked, hoping she did remember. He certainly couldn't forget.

"Of course,"

He was secretly happy about this, but did not let it show.

"Well then you know how I only had one friend growing up?" He asked.

"Yeah, you told me that," she answered. She remained quiet for a while, thinking. Syaoran also kept silent, hoping she understood what he meant. And without a doubt, she did. Sakura was the most understanding person he knew of, next to Wei. "So, you don't exactly know how to make friends and keep them, because of the childhood you had growing up?"

"Kind of," he admitted.

"Okay, let me try again." she said, "You do don't exactly know how to make friends, keep them, and be a good one?"

"Closer,"

She sighed with a smile on her face. Like he was being silly. He really liked how she didn't get easily frustrated with him. "You don't exactly know how to make friends, keep them, be a good one, and open up to them?" She asked for the final time. She raised her eyebrow, as if daring him to say she was wrong.

"It's about time," he teased.

She laughed, allowing her rich laughter to surround the both of them as it was carried throughout the open courtyard, caught up in the spring air. "Oh, Li-kun..." she sighed, staring at him almost sadly. "I'm really sorry for the childhood you had growing up. But you shouldn't let that get in the way of you _now_." She stated.

Syaoran didn't utter a single word, in hopes that she would continue. Maybe she was getting to something.

"If I'm correct, you want to get away from that all, right? All the harsh training and all the loneliness - because afterall, you only had one friend - who you were related to." He nodded. He truly did want to get away from it all. "Then try to be a different guy. If you're sick of your loneliness, then get rid of it."

"How?" He asked.

"How else? By making friends," she answered cheerfully, "Yamazaki-kun already considers himself your friend. So does everyone else sitting over there."

"And how do I be a good friend?"

"Easy-peasy," she laughed, "Yamazaki-kun and everyone else are willing to listen to you, including me. Whatever you have to vent about, complain about, tell us about, we're all ears. You just have to open up, be a little less cold, and be willing to do the same for us. If you work at it, it shouldn't be that difficult."

"And how do I keep them?"

She smiled again. "If you open up, be a little less cold, and are willing to listen to us, you won't have to worry about that."

He didn't say anything for a while because of the fact that he was deep in thought. He couldn't help the way he was. He couldn't help the fact that he was generally a cold person. But he _could_ change. Which is what he would try to do. If he wanted to forget about his past, then he had to do exactly that.

"And..." Syaoran spluttered in a voice barely audible, "how would you say friends feel about each other?"

He couldn't see her face because he turned away, refusing to look at her. But he knew that she was confused because of her voice. "I don't understand the question." She said truthfully. "Rephrase?"

He couldn't believe he was doing this. This was bad! This was wrong! Utterly and completely stupid! Sakura was gullible, he knew that, but she would see right through this, she wasn't _that_ naïve!

But, he couldn't help himself.

"Is it normal...for male friends to think non-stop about another female friend? For them to...to uh, stutter a lot, and kind of...cause them to, you know...blush?" And just as he said the last word of his awkward question, his face filled with the most embarrassing colour of red. Luckily, he was still looking away.

Just by hearing her voice, he knew she was still confused. Which was good. That meant she didn't realize that he was talking about himself, and the things she was able to do to him. "Are you crushing on a fan girl?" She asked incredulously, her voice almost hurt. "I thought...I thought you hated fan girls!" She exclaimed.

Then, he turned to her, just to see her true reaction. He was tired of having to judge just by voice. Her eyes were wide, her jaw hanging loose from the top of her mouth. "No!" He insisted, "Of course I'm not crushing on a fan girl...it's a person I know!" He blurted, saying the thing that first came to mind, "He came to me with that problem and I didn't know what to say. So I thought I'd ask you,"

Slowly, her jaw reconnected with her mouth and her eyes got smaller and smaller until they were its normal size. She laughed. "Oh, well, maybe he's starting to like her?" She suggested.

Oh man. That wasn't the answer he was hoping for. He wanted an answer that would somehow tell him that he really and truly wasn't in love with her!

"But what if they've only known each other for a few days?"

Sakura screwed up her face in thought, her eyes reminiscent. She looked to him, her face soft and her skin glowing. "Do you remember the first time you saved my life?" She asked quietly, glancing at him through her eyelashes, her cheeks filling with an adorable shade of pink, probably because she was embarrassed.

He didn't know what that had to do with his question, but he answered anyway. "Yes."

"I was returning a baby bird back to it's nest." She said, retelling the story. "I was so determined to bring that baby bird back to it's mother..."

Her voice had grown soft, and her eyes were staring out into the courtyard, as if remembering something. He searched her face, tilting his head to one side. "Kinomoto-san...?"

"Years ago, when my mother was alive, she decided to return a baby bird to it's nest when it fell. On her way down the tree, the branch began to break off. Only three of her friends were there to help, but they were all so scared, no one did anything. So the branch went flying, and so did my mother..."

His eyes widened. The first time he'd rescued her, it also happened to her mom?

"Instead of landing on the ground, breaking her neck and dying like she thought, she landed on something hard, something really solid..." she turned to look at him, the widest and brightest smile ever to be seen plastered across her perfect face, "she landed on my dad. My dad broke her fall."

Syaoran was so interested in her story that he sighed in relief. "Phew," he said aloud.

Sakura then started to laugh. "You know what my dad said? He said 'I thought an angel had fallen from the sky'."

Syaoran smirked. What a nice line to pull. But something told him that Sakura's dad really and truly did think that an angel had fallen from the sky.

"That was the first time my parents met," Sakura stated, "the moment they fell in love."

His eyes softened in understanding. She was answering his question with the experience her parents had had so many years ago, before she was even born. "I see." He replied quietly, staring at her intently. Her smile was now no longer the only bright thing he could see, but her eyes also. It seemed that she got very happy when talking about either of her parents.

"If my parents, the happiest, most in love couple I ever knew, could fall in love in a matter of just one single day, then it sure is possible for your friend to fall in love in just a _few_ days."

"You think so?" I asked.

She nodded.

How could he disagree with such an angelic face? He then, probably knew, where Sakura got her amazing good looks from. Not to mention, her kindness, her love for not only other humans, but animals, too.

"I hope your friend figures this out," she said caringly.

"Yeah..." he mumbled, "I hope he does, too."

In the few days that passed, his thoughts were confirmed. So what if only eight days had passed since he first met Sakura? She was right. Her parents fell in love with just one meeting, it sure as hell was possible for _him_ to fall in love with _her_ in just a little more than a week. How could he not? She was simply irresistable, it was true and completely undeniable.

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**Some of you thought I was rushing it by saying he already fell in love with her last chapter. To comfort you disagree-ers, as I like to call you, I created this chapter. Review, please and thanks :D**

**Have a safe and happy Halloween :D  
**  
Signing Off,  
Agent08 - _My life as a secret agent_ xD


	10. The Lies

**Agent08 Reporting for Duty!**

Now on with chapter ten!

**Saving Syaoran**

_The Lies_

Days came and went, all seeming to fly by faster and faster each time. Syaoran and Sakura were beginning to spend more time with each other, both alone and with other people around. Ever since the talk that they'd shared underneath the cherry blossom tree a few days ago, Syaoran began doing what Sakura suggested, thus gaining himself the friends that he never thought he'd make.

Flopping down on her bed with a sigh, Sakura stretched with a yawn. Tomoyo sat on the edge, watching her with an amused smile. Sakura grinned herself, looking to her best friend with her usual brightness. Though she couldn't help but notice that ever since a little more than a week ago, her smile was a lot brighter than before.

"Today was pretty fun," Sakura commented, unzipping her backpack and taking her things out to begin the homework. Tomoyo followed suit, watching and listening carefully. "I never thought that Li-kun would be the type to play soccer, but then again, what isn't he good at?" She added thoughtfully.

"True," she replied.

"By the way, Tomoyo-chan, am I going shopping this year for the Spring Formal, or - ?"

"Do you even have to _ask?_"Tomoyo cut in sharply, almost looking offended. When did she ever let Sakura shop for a dress or an outfit when there was an upcoming school event? She would never allow her to go shopping! That's what Tomoyo was there for - to make the dresses or outfits _for_ her.

Sakura giggled, "Hoe, just making sure, Tomoyo-chan. No need to get touchy."

Tomoyo shrugged her shoulders and changed the topic. She shifted her eyes around the room uneasily, suddenly trying to look indifferent. Sakura could see right through that pretense as her best friend asked, "Hey, has Eriol-kun asked anyone to go to the Spring Formal? Just thought I'd ask, since we're already, you know, talking about...yeah." She shrugged her shoulders again, blushing slightly.

"No," Sakura replied reassuringly, "he hasn't asked anyone yet."

Tomoyo had to restrain herself from sighing in relief. "Oh. I see." Sakura rolled her eyes lovingly. She didn't need to pretend with her. Besides, Sakura already knew full well about the enormously large crushes the two already had on each other. "Speaking of, are you nervous at all for the date you and Li-kun have?"

Sakura's eyes almost bulged at the question. She'd almost forgot about that. Not that it was something she would easily forget, but she was having so much fun just spending time with him (_him_ being Syaoran) that it just slipped her mind that she had a date with him in a few weeks.

She remembered feeling abnormally happy when he'd asked her. She got the vibe that somehow, he hadn't been planning on doing so, and that he kind of just did it on impulse. You know, ever heard of the phrase, _now or never?_ In any case, she didn't care. She was just very happy that of all the people she got to go with, it was him.

She also remembered how oddly angry she felt when she thought he'd been crushing on a fan girl. Why, she thought, why would he ever ask me to the dance if he was already head over heels for a fan girl? She'd felt very hurt, and yet, she didn't seem to know why. Syaoran was begining to make her feel a lot of things that she just couldn't seem to figure out why.

Well...considering how dense she is, she'd probably figure it out later than some would want.

_I_ should know. I'm the freaking _witness!_

"Nervous?" She asked, "Why should I be nervous?"

"Sakura-chan," Tomoyo said scoldingly, "don't even try to lie to me! This will be your first date, you know it, too."

Sakura blushed heavily, turning her head away. "Hoe...we should get started on our homework."

As many times as she'd been asked to attend something with a person of the opposite sex, she'd never said yes - except for when Syaoran asked her. So, yeah, going to the Spring Formal with him would most definitely be her first date.

But she didn't need to let him know that. Besides, there were probably a couple of things or two that he was keeping from _her_. They didn't have to know _all_ of each other's secrets...

**_xxxxxx_**

Entering the apartment, Syaoran hung his coat up on the nearest hanger. Walking into the kitchen, he saw Wei, preparing his after school meal. He nodded at him and Wei nodded back, saying hello in greeting. He continued to say that his meal would be ready soon, and Syaoran replied by assuring him to take his time.

He walked into his bedroom and dumped his things on his bed. He had very few homework, since he finished most of it in class. So that he could have the rest of the night free to do what he wanted, he began to write his assignments while he waited for his food.

He then heard a soft knocking on the door. "Come in, Wei," he said in that rich, masculine voice of his. The door creaked open and Wei stepped inside, standing before Syaoran who was lying on his stomach on his bed, elbow propped up, his hand cradling his chin. He did not bother looking up from his work as Wei stared intently at him. He was very used to this.

"How are things, Syaoran-sama?" Wei asked, sounding interested. "You never really told me how you've been doing at school, or how you've been fairing with your new enemy."

Syaoran stopped doing his school work and peered up at Wei, who was gazing down at him with affectionate, old eyes. "Enemy?" He asked, not able to categorize Sakura as such after the few days they'd spent together.

"Sakura, I think her name was." He replied. "When you spoke of her that one time, you seemed very fond of her. But then you began making your plan of trying to find out her weaknesses and such. I'm glad you've been concentrating on completing your mission." He seemed proud, proud that Syaoran was accomplishing so much in just a short time.

"Oh. Uh." He searched for the right words to say, "Right. Well, things are coming along."

"Good!" He commented, "That's very good indeed, Syaoran-sama. I'm sure the elders will be very happy to know that you're doing so much at once. Balancing both school and challenging the card mistress. The elders are, actually, very happy. I filled them in a while ago. They called while you were at school."

Syaoran froze. What? They had? "What did you say?" He asked urgently.

"Since you were very eager the last time we spoke about this, I told them that you were creating your future plans, and very confident to execute them. They were also very, very happy that you'd already found the identity of the new mistress. They are very proud. And so am I." Wei patted his back.

"Thanks, Wei..."

Syaoran hated lying to him through his teeth. He couldn't believe he bought it. Couldn't he sense how uncomfortable he was? He guessed he hadn't, since Wei had left him there, now sitting on his bed, lost and confused about the mess he'd gotten himself into.

Surely everybody would understand? Surely they would understand that he was in love, and when in love, people do crazy things.

Truth was, Wei _did_ sense that Syaoran was uncomfortable, which was why he left the room in the first place. He thought that Syaoran didn't feel like talking about his future plans to challenge Sakura, so he just left. And yes, he was actually quite disappointed to learn that Syaoran didn't somehow manage to make peace or friends with his new enemy, but what did he expect?

_The_ Syaoran Li, choosing something he _wanted_ over what he knew he should do? He simply couldn't imagine.

Well, the thing was, he didn't have to imagine. If he only knew the truth. Syaoran had already chosen between the two. He just didn't know how to tell anyone.

**_xxxxxx_**

The dismissal bell sounded loudly. Sakura got up from her seat and went straight to her locker. It was the end of a tiresome day and luckily for her, she didn't have all that much homework to do later in the night. So she thought she'd do something fun with her friends. In just a few more days they'd all be leaving to go on their senior class field trip. What a better way to leave Tomoeda for five days than with a bang?

She was met with her normal group of friends. Tomoyo, Chiharu, Yamazaki, Eriol, Rika, and Syaoran. He, aside from Rika, was probably the quietest out of the bunch. Yes, he was making friends and she was extremely happy for him, but he was still only beginning to adjust with "hanging out."

"Do you guys want to do something?" Sakura asked, "We're leaving soon for the field trip and I want so badly to do something really fun before we go!"

"Sorry, Sakura-chan," Rika apologized sadly, "I have ballet practice to be getting to. I'll see you guys later. Hope you guys have fun!" She waved to all of them, all of them also saying goodbye. Although one of her friends couldn't make it, at least there was still five of them who could come with her, right?

"We're sorry, too, Sakura-chan," Chiharu chimed, "Yamazaki and I have a date."

Okay, minus two. But, you know, Sakura didn't really mind. She'd hate to keep the two love birds from doing whatever it was that they normally did on dates (she liked to refrain from thinking about it)...

"That's fine," Sakura replied, "you guys go. Eriol-kun, Tomoyo-chan and Li-kun and I can all just go without you. Go on, go on your date." Sakura encouraged. Chiharu and her boyfriend left quickly, before he could get into boring detail about how the very first date in the world was spent.

"I guess that makes it just us four then?" Tomoyo asked.

"I guess so," Eriol replied, "where would we all like to go?"

Sighing, Sakura thought. "Well...it's kind of hot today. Why don't we go to the ice cream parlor?"

"Sounds good." They all agreed, gathering their things and walking out of the school building.

Just as they had set foot on the cement of the sidewalk, Sakura took Syaoran's arm and forced him to stay put, as Tomoyo and Eriol walked passed the two obliviously, both of them completely absorbed into their own universe. Syaoran looked at her, confused, but her eyes were stuck on her best friend, who was walking further and further away.

"What are we doing?" Syaoran asked.

Sakura let go of his arm slowly, her eyes still glued onto the pair a few paces ahead of them. Amazingly, Syaoran managed not to blush when she made contact with his arm. Somehow, over the past few days, he mastered the art of not blushing when the girl of his dreams was near. It took a lot of practice, trust me.

"Just walk behind them with me, okay?" Sakura told him, "Eriol-kun hasn't asked Tomoyo-chan to the Spring Formal yet, so I'm just trying to give them some alone time so that he can."

"I see."

They walked silently, watching as Tomoyo and Eriol laughed and spoke together. It was so utterly obvious that these two had feelings for each other. It bothered Sakura so much that sometimes she fell into a state of wanting to rip her hair out. They needed to gather a little bit more guts and confess.

How could they keep lying to each other? She hated it when people lied, especially when she did it herself. But she couldn't help it. In order to keep things, such as the cards, a secret, she _had_ to lie. She just didn't understand how someone could lie about something as important as how they felt about someone.

"I wish they would just admit it," Sakura muttered absent-mindedly. She'd been thinking that in her head, she did not realize she'd said it aloud.

"What?" Syaoran asked, cocking his head to the side.

They had just entered the ice cream parlor. The decor of the entire place looked as if it were something straight out of the 50's. The floor was tiled with black and white marble, and there were white leather cushions everywhere. Even the outfits of the waiters looked like they were from the fifties. Pink uniforms and white aprons. With lots of frills. Ew.

"What?" Sakura echoed, for she still did not realize what she said aloud.

She and Syaoran fell in behind Tomoyo and Eriol, who were in line to take their orders. The person behind the register greeted them warmly. So, with the other two distracted, Syaoran said, "You said, 'I wish they would just admit it' a while ago." He explained, figuring out for himself that Sakura did not know she even said this.

Sakura's eyebrows raised. "Oh, I said that?" She asked herself, as Tomoyo and Eriol stepped out of line with their ice cream cones. She and Syaoran stepped forward and said hello to the person taking their orders. "One double scoop strawberry ice cream cone, please?" Sakura ordered sweetly.

"And one single scoop chocolate cone." Syaoran added.

They payed and instead of joining their friends, sat away from them. Sakura still wanted to give them their alone time.

"Care to explain?" Syaoran later said, once they were settled with their ice cream. He licked his cone robotically, too busy paying attention to the person sitting in front of him.

"I was just thinking about how Tomoyo-chan and Eriol-kun haven't admitted their feelings for each other yet. It bothers me, that's all." She explained, licking her ice cream as if there was no tomorrow. Syaoran, however, found it adorable - like she was some cute kitten or whatever. It was hard for him to see Sakura in a negative light.

Hesitantly, he asked, "Do you...not...like it when people don't admit their feelings for someone they care for?"

"Yes." She answered flatly. Syaoran's face froze but Sakura didn't seem to notice. "If someone likes another person, they should tell them. I mean, they have a right to know, don't they? And wouldn't it be better to be rejected or accepted than having to wonder whether or not they feel the same way?"

"I don't think it's that simple," Syaoran disagreed. He was in an uncomfortable position at the moment. "Someone could just be, you know, not ready to say how they feel."

Sakura shrugged. "The worst that could happen is that they reject you, and one could easily get over that."

Syaoran raised his eyebrow, unsure. "Have _you_ ever been rejected?"

"Well, no..." Sakura replied.

"Then, I don't see how you could know that."

Deep in thought, Sakura remained silent. Both she and Syaoran kept to themselves for the next few minutes or so, both licking their cones every now and then. Maybe Syaoran was right, and maybe she really was wrong. In just those brief moments, Syaoran managed to restore Sakura's patience for her two friends. She liked that he was able to do that. Only Tomoyo was ever able to do something like that.

"I've been thinking," Sakura said, breaking the silence, "why are you here?"

Syaoran almost felt hurt. "I thought you wanted me to be here..." he replied quietly.

Sakura's eyebrows went straight up. "Oh, no! No! I didn't mean it like that. I mean, why did you come to Tomoeda? Do you remember, we were talking on the day of the blackout, and you said that if you told me you why you were here, you'd have to kill me. I thought it was a pretty funny joke, but really, why are you here?"

Syaoran nearly dropped his cone.

Oh, forget nearly, he really did drop it.

It splattered onto the floor, a liquid, mushy brown mixture of ice cream spreading itself across the black and white tiles. "Hoe!" Sakura said, a little more loudly than she intended to, getting the attention of a busboy. He went over to the two and said that he would be back in a moment to clean it up with a mop.

"I'm so sorry," Syaoran apologized to both Sakura and the busboy. The busboy shrugged it off and said it was no big deal. "I'll clean it, if you like." The boy laughed and assured him that it wasn't a problem. Sakura smiled, also doing the same thing. Besides, she had told him, it wasn't as if she'd paid for him.

"I guess I'm not the only clumsy person here," Sakura giggled.

"What can I say?" Syaoran shrugged uncomfortably, hoping she forgot about what she'd just asked him. "Butterfingers," he told her, wiggling his fingers. She giggled again.

"So, the answer to my question?" she asked.

Aw, _shit_.

"What question?" He faked.

"Why did you move to Tomeoda?"

He laughed nervously. "Oh. Uh. You see..." he struggled for the words. What to say, what to say! He had no idea! Tell her the truth? Hell no. He honestly couldn't think of anything to say, other than a lie. He wanted to swear very loudly. He was sick of lying, and he especially didn't want to lie to her. But what other choice did he have?

"My mom thought that I should experience life somewhere else, other than Hong Kong. I grew up there my entire life, so, she thought it'd be best to, you know...yeah..." He cringed inwardly. Could he be anymore bad at this?

Luckily for him, Sakura was extremely gullible.

"Really?" She asked, honestly buying it, "Wow, you should get your mom to speak to my dad! If he thought like that, I wouldn't be stuck here in this small town. I'd be out there. Out there in, like, the world, you know? Experiencing the things you've probably done a thousand times before." She sighed dreamily.

"Yeah..." Syaoran agreed reluctantly.

Sensing his discomfort, Sakura cocked her head to the side and stared intently at him. "You okay?" She asked him, "If you're still mad at yourself for dropping that ice cream cone, I'm telling you, it's not a big deal. If I got a quarter for everytime I did that, I'd be rich." She said, trying to make him smile. But he didn't.

"No, it's not that." He told her.

Her eyes filled with concern. "What is it?" She asked softly.

Six words flashed through his head. Come up with a good excuse. No, not those six words. Come up with a good LIE.

"I...uh, I miss home." He fibbed, "You got me thinking about it, and I miss my mom, and...you know, everyone else."

Sakura smiled sadly at him. "Oh, Li-kun...it's okay to miss home. Try calling tonight. Maybe that'll help." She suggested cheerfully.

"Good idea." He lied again. Calling home? The place he's trying his best to avoid? Yeah, right. "Actually, I think...uh, I think I'll go and do that right now." Grabbing his things and saying a rushed goodbye to Sakura, Tomoyo and Eriol, he headed out of the parlor and headed straight for the apartment.

He entered the building, brushing passed Wei who was sitting on a nearby chair. He said hello, but Syaoran did not reply. He was too frustrated with himself to say anything. But it was what Wei had said after that got him to speak. "The elders phoned again while you were at school. They would like me to ask you how things are going."

Syaoran kept still. "Tell them things are alright." With that, he made to leave Wei.

"Wait, Syaoran-sama," Wei said quickly after, "they want to know _specifically_ how things are going."

Sighing, not believing that he was doing this again, he answered, "Tell them I'm getting a lot of information out of her. Things are going just fine, and I'm in the middle of making more plans. Tell them that so that they are pleased."

Never before had Syaoran ever felt so guilty. He could always be honest with Wei. The burden of having to carry out his mission was just starting to grow heavier and heavier. So he decided, then and there, he'd tell them all the truth soon. He didn't know when, but he would, that was for sure. And, like Sakura said, it'd be better if they rejected it or accepted it - either way, he wouldn't have to keep lying to the people he loved.

-

-

-

-

**Eh. x 1000. Bleh. Dry, I know. So very, very dry. Things will get interesting soon. I hope. Haha.**

**May We Remember on November 11th,**  
Agent08 - _My life as a secret agent _xD


	11. The Departure for Camp Sunshine

**Agent08 Reporting for Duty!**

Now on with chapter ten!

**Saving Syaoran**

_The Departure for Camp Sunshine_

"Wei!" Syaoran screamed down the hall, "Where is my favourite green shirt?"

Appearing in the door frame, Wei leaned against it, an amused, pleasant smile on his face. "You're holding it, Syaoran-sama." He told him.

Stopping all movement, Syaoran looked down at his arms, and sure enough, his favourite green shirt was already within his possession. He shrugged, embarrassed, and chucked it into his already open suitcase. In the midst of all his bed room chaos, preparing all his things for camp the next day, he couldn't afford to stop any more than he already had.

"Slow down, Syaoran-sama," Wei said softly, insisting that Syaoran do what he did not want to. "I'd be glad to do the rest for you,"

"No," Syaoran insisted, "you've done so much for me already, Wei."

"Syaoran-sama, I only packed your toiletries."

"It's okay!" He insisted, no longer paying attention to the flow of the conversation. He'd been spending so much time on homework, and being out with his friends and just talking about how fun it would be at Camp Sunshine that he didn't even remember to pack. It was the afternoon before all the seniors of Seiju High would leave for the five day trip, and all that he was doing was completely last minute.

"Syaoran-sama, deep breaths." Wei told him teasingly.

"I can't, Wei, I have so much to do!" He stated. The phone sitting atop his bedside table began to ring. Instead of answering, Syaoran ignored it.

"Aren't you going to get that, Syaoran-sama?" Wei asked.

Groaning and picking up the phone, he pressed the speaker phone button. "Hello!" He screamed loudly.

"Li-kun, are you alright?" The voice on the other end asked. Stopping for the second time, Syaoran froze. Dropping whatever piece of clothing that he was currently holding, he turned to Wei, who was watching with expectant eyes.

Gulping, for he already knew who was on the other line, he answered, "How did you get this number?"

"Yamazaki-kun gave it to me, silly." The voice replied, giggling. "How did you know it was me?"

Glancing at Wei, but then quickly turning away, he replied, "I recognized your voice." No longer hesitating, he took the phone off of speaker, picked it up and began talking into it so that Wei wouldn't hear any of their conversation, only what he was replying. "What's up?" He asked quietly.

"Oh, well, I was bored and I thought maybe you wanted to go to the park with me or something?" The voice on the other end had grown a little quiet also, kind of hesitant. "I already tried everybody else, so I could make it a group thing, but everyone's doing last minute packing. And you, Li-kun, since you're so organized, I knew you wouldn't be doing any of that."

He shrugged, though he knew they wouldn't see. "Eh."

"So can you meet me at the park in about fifteen minutes?"

Checking his watch, Syaoran echoed, "Fifteen minutes? Sure. See you there." Hanging up the phone, he tugged on his sweater, ready to take a walk to the park.

"Going somewhere?" Wei asked curiously.

Tell the truth. Syaoran thought to himself. "Yeah, I'm meeting somebody."

"Who?"

Tell the truth. Tell the truth. "...Sakura Kinomoto-san."

Even through the silence, and without even looking at him, Syaoran knew that he was a little surprised. Daring to look up, he did so, peering wonderingly into Wei's affectionate eyes. The shock faded, and instead, was replaced with his usual pleasant smile. "You're decieving her quite nicely into think you two are friends, Syaoran-sama. I'm assuming you'll be questioning her further once you two meet later on?"

Syaoran's face fell. Tell a lie. Tell a lie. "...Yeah."

"Very good, Syaoran-sama!" He exclaimed, patting him on the back. "Take your time, then."

Syaoran nodded, saying goodbye. Just a few more lies. He didn't know how much more, but they would get him through. Through up to the point when he'd finally be able to tell the truth, ready to eat up every single lie he'd ever told to his loved ones.

Exiting the apartment building, Syaoran could not rid himself of an odd rumbling in his stomach. It wasn't because he was hungry, he knew that. He'd tried eating remedy the rumbling. He ate so much that he became bloated. He then only realized that it was caused by the lies. Oh, the lies, how they complicated things.

He arrived at the park fifteen minutes later. Surprise, surprise, Sakura was not there yet. He took a seat on a swing, pumping his legs slowly. He stared at the dirt underneath him, not knowing what else to do.

He was then joined by Sakura, who also took the seat of the swing beside him. "Hi!" She greeted cheerfully.

"Hey." He replied.

"I'm almost done packing. What about you?" She asked him, beginning to pump her legs, too. Before he could tell her that he wasn't done packing at all, she spoke again. "Oh, who am I kidding? You're probably all done. I told you over the phone how everyone was doing last minute packing, right?" He nodded. "Yeah, I'm used to last minute packing, which would explain why I'm nearly finished."

"Excited?" Syaoran asked, referring to their trip to Camp Sunshine. When he'd first heard of it, he thought it was meant for little kids. The name sounded so utterly juvenile. But then he was given a pamphlet, as was every other senior student at Seiju High. _Where only good things can happen, and even greater things experienced_, it read. It boasted all of the amazing activites they hosted at Camp Sunshine and everything they could possibly offer to visitors. After reading it, he was actually looking forward to the trip.

Sakura took a while before answering. Lifting her head, she looked him straight in the eye and answered, "Yes, yes I am."

Staring into her eyes for just that single moment before she lowered them back onto the ground, Syaoran saw something. Her eyes had less twinkle, and they seemed very hesitant, almost questioning and unsure. If he had only heard her voice and had not been looking into his eyes, he never would've guessed that she was lying.

But before he could question her about why she of all people would ever lie, and especially about something as trivial as leaving for Camp Sunshine, she suggested, "Want to have a swinging contest?"

Syaoran smiled. He was amazed at how she could seem so insecure at one point and then so cheerful in the next, as if there was not a single care in the world. "Care to make things interesting?" He asked, raising a daring eyebrow which made Sakura giggle. He loved it when he made her laugh.

"How so?" She replied, still giggling. He shrugged. Putting on her thinking face (which he also loved), Sakura's eyes brightened up when an idea came to her. "The person who jumps off the swing at the lowest height has to pay for the ice cream!" She suggested cheerfully. Syaoran pulled a face.

"We're going for ice cream?"

"Afraid you'll spill it again?" She teased.

"Very funny," he scoffed, though smiling.

"Ready?" Sakura said, her feet ready to pump. Syaoran nodded. "Set go!" She shrieked, saying both words all in a rush to try and sway him. He laughed at her eagerness, not at all phased by what she had done, and began pumping, too.

The faster he worked his legs, the higher and higher he got into the air. Each time his swing would fly up into the vast and endless red-yellow early evening sky, he would close his eyes and let himself fall back, liking the falling sensation he felt whenever he did so. It got rid of the rumbling in his stomach for a while.

From the corner of his eye he would sneak peeks at Sakura, who as doing the exact same as he. When he was not closing his eyes to relish the feeling of flying, he was staring intently at her face, surrounded by all the waving strands of auburn air that danced with the wind. Her cheeks were painted a light pink, not because of any type of make-up. It was the natural kind. The kind he liked.

Her eyes opened, settling in on his. He forced himself not to blush. "Ready to jump?" She said. He nodded, not able to find his voice. "One," she counted down, "two...three!"

At three, they both leaped off of their swings when they reached their highest. Syaoran, wanting to be a gentleman, purposely lost. Besides, he didn't need to lose a competition to have to pay for Sakura's ice cream. He would do that for her any old day. So when he landed in a heap on the sand, he was not bothered by Sakura's playful smirk.

"I won!" She exclaimed happily, sitting up and clapping her hands together, "Yay, I won!"

She was childish, he had to admit, but that was also one of her loveable traits. "I guess I'm going to have to buy our ice cream, then?"

She nodded cutely.

"Let's go, then." He said, being the first of the two to get up. He held his hand out for her which she gratefully took. The shocking sensation that passed through his arms, into her palm and right up her own arm they were so used to that neither of them even flinched. They just pretended like neither of them had noticed, and began walking to the nearest ice cream cart.

When they were both settled with their own ice cream cup, Sakura's of course being strawberry flavoured with a cherry on top, and Syaoran's being double fudge, he began to walk her home. "Are you sure you're okay with walking me home?" She asked him, sticking her spoon into the thick pink mixture.

"Of course." He answered. Anything to be at her side. "So, can I ask you something?"

Without looking at him, Sakura replied with a, "Shoot."

Hesitantly, he asked, "Why'd you lie to me earlier?"

Sakura's head snapped up immediately, eyeing Syaoran with narrowed eyes. It was hardly disturbing, but still, it was the meanest look Syaoran had ever seen grace Sakura's face up to this point. But just as quickly as she'd looked at him, she turned away, as if not wanting to looking into his eyes. "What are you talking about?"

Syaoran shrugged, feeling a little blue that Sakura didn't feel like looking at him. "I got the feeling that you weren't so excited to leave for Camp Sunshine, and yet you told me that you were. Sorry for being blunt...maybe you really are excited about the trip." He couldn't help but apologize. The last thing he wanted to do was get Sakura angry.

They were silent for a while, neither knowing what to say. Then, with a sigh, Sakura apologized, too. "No, Li-kun, I'm sorry for being mean." She smiled apologetically, "I didn't mean too. It's just..." her sentence was left hanging in the cool evening air. The sun was beginning to dip down low behind the clouds...it would be dark soon.

"What is it?" He asked.

"Can I tell you something only Tomoyo-chan knows?" She wanted very badly to confide in him.

"Sure you can,"

Her cheeks went a light shade of red before she answered, "This'll be the first time me and my otou-san will be away from each other since my onii-chan left for school in America." She shrugged her shoulders, hoping to seem indifferent. But Syaoran knew that Sakura, being so sensetive and delicate, that something that leaving her dad behind for just five days was a big deal.

"Oh. And you're worried about how he'll handle himself without you?"

Sakura turned to him slowly, a wide smile spread across her face. Before she explained, she said softly, "Oh, Li-kun, I knew you'd understand!" He, in turn, blushed a darker shade of red than was on her cheeks. "Well, that's part of it," she explained, "ever since I was kid, he only ever left for his archaelogical digs when he knew I'd be in my onii-chan, Touya's care."

"I see..." Syaoran breathed.

"He's worried about me. And I'm worried about him."

They arrived at her front gates, a lovely brown set of planks knotted together, surrounding her large front yard and two story house. It was a modest home with two wide A-shaped roofs. The porch looked extremely inviting with a rocking chair sitting off to the side, and a big swinging hammock which most used for sitting purposes.

Stepping onto the stoned path that lead up to the front steps of her home, Sakura said, "Thanks for walking me home, Li-kun. And thanks for the ice-cream."

"No problem," he answered, truly meaning it. In fact, it was more of an honour, he thought, to be buying someone like her an ice cream cup. "And, Kinomoto-san?" He lightly grabbed the sleeve of her sweater, gently forcing her to stay put. "Don't worry about your otou-san. He'll probably be too busy missing you than to have time worrying about you,"

Sakura's face softened, truly taking his compliment to heart. She smiled a new smile at him, one he'd never seen touch her lips. "Oh...thanks, Li-kun. That means a lot."

He shrugged as if it was nothing. "And as for yourself, your otou-san's a big boy. He can take care of himself. No matter how old he might be." Saying that, Syaoran really began to wonder what age Sakura's dad was, and what he might look alike. His question was answered when the front door of the Kinomoto home swung open, a man standing in the door frame.

Before Sakura's dad could get a word in, he sneezed. He excused himself and said, "Sakura, you're back."

She smiled a loving smile at her father and ran towards him, taking his hand. She looked up at him with big, adoring eyes. He looked back down at her from an enormous height. Her dad was very tall, and it was almost impossible to see his dark, charcoal coloured eyes. Because of that reason, and because of his dark brown bangs covering them.

"Who is that?" He asked.

"This is my friend, otou-san! Syaoran Li-kun, he's my classmate."

"Hello, Li-san," her dad greeted, "I'm Sakura's father. Fujitaka Kinomoto." He waved his free hand from where he was standing.

Syaoran nodded, cupping the side of his mouth with one hand. "Hello," he said loudly, "nice to meet you."

"Why don't you invite him over for dinner, Sakura?" He heard her father suggest. Sakura's eyes brightened with delight.

As much as he would've loved to stay and dine with them, he could not. Sakura may have thought so, but he most certainly was not done packing. "Thank you, Kinomoto-san, but I should get going." He waved at them both in goodbye, "I'll see you at school," he called, his comment directed towards Sakura. "Goodbye, Kinomoto-san!"

"I'll see you bright and early tomorrow morning!" Sakura called back, "Remember, tomorrow in the school parking lot, ready to board the bus!"

Syaoran chuckled. "Goodluck," he teased.

Fujitaka couldn't help but laugh. It was true, his daughter was known for her tardiness."Goodbye," he replied brightly, waving. He looked down at his daughter who was still holding his hand, as she looked at the retreating back of Syaoran. "He seems like a nice boy," he commented after he was gone.

Still staring, Sakura replied, "Yeah...he really is."

**_xxxxxx_**

"Eriol Hiirigazawa-san, Toji Mirouku-san, Saya Yugisawa-san, and all of my homeroom students, start loading bus number two!" Terada-sensei hollered at the sixty-something seniors. Two seniors classes, all having thirty-something students in each class. More than sixty hyper seventeen to eighteen year olds, all under the charge of three teachers. You could imagine how difficult this task was.

Sakura, Syaoran, Tomoyo, Chiharu and Yamazaki, all being part of Terada-sensei's homeroom class, joined the large line that lead them up inside the bus. It was the nice type of bus that had top bins where you could store your things, and the DVD player appearing from the ceiling of the bus every three rows.

Sakura, suddenly deciding that she did not want to sit beside her best friend, suggested she sit with Eriol instead. "Go on, I'm saving a spot for Li-kun." She insisted.

Saying that, Tomoyo did not need to be told another time. Have the opprotunity to sit beside your crush while you get to spy on the guy who you _know_ has a crush on your best friend? That's what some would call a _win-win situation_.

So Syaoran and Sakura took their seats across from Chiharu and Yamazaki, and in front of Tomoyo and Eriol. Sitting up on his knees, Yamazaki asked, "Oy, Eriol-kun! How did you manage to be put in our group for the trip?"

Eriol leaned forward to answer his question. "I work at the office with Mirouku-kun and Yugiasawa-san. As a favor, we asked if we could be part of this homeroom just for the moment. Since we work there so much, they said it wouldn't be a problem."

"Nice," Yamazaki said, stretching out his arm for a high-five.

"Sit down, Yamazaki, Hiirigazawa," Terada-sensei immediately ordered. The two sat down and the bus was hushed to silence. "Now, has everybody got their things in the luggage trucks?" Everyone nodded. Because there was no room in the bus, they hired trucks to take their suitcases for them and allowed them to drive ahead. "Good. Do I need to go over the bus rules?"

Everyone groaned. "We've known the bus rules ever since we were in the first grade!" Somebody exclaimed.

Still, Terada-sensei continued. "No bus sing-alongs, that will disturb the bus driver. No food or drinks allowed out, and no littering. Okay?"

"Yes." The class replied in monotone unison.

"Are we already?"

"Yes!" They all shrieked with impatience.

Terada-sensei sat down in his seat, the bus doors closed shut, and the wheels began taking them forward to their destination - Camp Sunshine. Where only good things can be found and even greater things experienced...

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**An update. I hope it was worth your while. Thank you for reading, and thank you again if you review. :)**

Signing Off,  
Agent08 - _My life as a secret agent_ xD


	12. The Welcome Wagons

**Agent08 Reporting for Duty!**

Now on with chapter ten!

**Saving Syaoran**

_The Welcome Wagons_

The bus ride to Camp Sunshine was long and boring. Sakura spent most of her time looking outside the window, awed by the beautiful scenery that decorated the small town of Tomoeda. She would poke Syaoran in the side every now and then with an excited smile and ask him if she saw what she had. Like the horses in the fields they passed, the cows, etc. He could tell she was very delighted indeed.

Most of the time Syaoran spent trying to slow down the beating of his heart. Being that close to Sakura for so long and having to force himself not to stare at her was hell. At times he would glance down at her hands and he simply itched just to curl his fingers around her own. Holding hands on a bus. How very adorable.

It amazed him how much two students could do just a few seats away from an adult. Chiharu and Yamazaki cuddled and did a whole bunch of things that both disgusted Syaoran and made him blush. They whispered such vomitous things to each other, loud enough for the entire bus to hear, but for some reason, fell on deaf ears for the adults. He knew Sakura heard. He figured that she mostly kept her head turned away so he wouldn't see her blushing, either.

The bus stopped at a nearby corner store when they were just a little more than half way to their destination. Any students that wished to use the bathroom could do so, and anyone that wanted to purchase anything from the corner store could also do so. More than half of the seniors in each bus climbed off, either wanting to stretch, use the bathroom, or buy something.

Syaoran stepped into the isle and allowed Sakura to go before him. She smiled that beautiful smile of hers in thanks and brushed passed him, later joined by Tomoyo once she got off. He followed after them, not needing to use the bathroom, but wanting to have a little fresh air. It was starting to feel really stuffy inside the bus.

He watched the clouds pass by overhead with both hands behind his head. The girls that stared at him from afar disappeared into the air as he ran away with his thoughts - about Sakura.

He hoped that maybe, just maybe, at the camp, he would find the courage to undo all the lies he'd told and tell her the truth about why he was really at Tomoeda and how much he had fallen in love with her in such a short amount of time. It was Camp Sunshine, right? "Where only good things can be found and only greater things experienced"?

He really and truly hoped that the camp lived up to it's phrase.

Turning his head, his eyes settled in on the calming eyes of Tomoyo Daidouji. She smiled at him, stepping away from Eriol who had just been beside her, and walked up to him. "Hello," she greeted politely.

"Hey." He replied indifferently.

"How are you feeling?" She asked. He found it so incredibly disturbing that she somehow knew before him that he had feelings for Sakura. And no matter how many times he would deny it in front of her, she would still know the truth. Not the entire truth, but part of it. She even knew that sitting beside Sakura in that bus was really starting to kill him.

"Fine." He fibbed. He smirked, turning the other way from her. "What about you?"

But he always got her back by teasing her about the long time crush she had on Eriol.

She glared at him cutely. "Fine," she mimicked. They stood in silence for a while. Then people began loading the bus again. "This is just as hard for her." She muttered beneath her breath. He turned towards her sharply, curious to know what she had said. He didn't quite hear her. But Tomoyo's eyes remained the same, as if she had never said a word.

"What?" He asked.

"What?" She repeated, finally turning towards him.

"You just said something."

"Said what?"

He eyed her suspiciously. "I thought I heard you say something."

Her eyes suddenly widened in alarm, but they shrunk back to their normal size just as fast as they'd changed. "What? No, I didn't say anything." She answered quickly.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." She squeaked. "Let's get back on the bus."

She turned her back on him, joining Eriol once again, leaving him behind. He looked after her blankly. What was up her ass?

Syaoran followed after Sakura on the bus, allowing her to get the the window seat again. She thanked him, and he was more than happy for obliging. "Why do you like the window seat so much, anyway?" He asked her curiously.

"I just love the view!" She answered enthusiastically once the bus began rolling along again. They were now far into the country side of Tomoeda, where the only thing ahead was the road and the only thing that surrounded them were the green-as-ever pastures. It seemed like in a place like this, nothing could go wrong. Except there was something wrong.

"Is Daidouji-san alright?" Syaoran asked of Sakura.

She turned to him. "She's fine. Why do you ask?"

He shrugged. "When she and I were talking she was acting a little funny."

Just like Tomoyo's had done, Sakura's eyes grew slightly larger in what seemed to be alarm. But then they changed again, back to their original, lovely size, as if they hadn't done so at all. "She was talking to you?" She asked almost nervously. Syaoran raised an eyebrow. She had no reason to be nervous.

"Yeah, she was. Is that...alright?" He said unsurely. She seemed a little disturbed.

"Yeah, it's fine. But what did she say?"

Syaoran shrugged again, feeling as though he were being interrogated. "She just asked how I was doing, that's all. She muttered something, but I didn't quite catch it. Is there something wrong?" Now he was feeling a little worried.

Sakura laughed. "No, nothing's wrong." Sitting up on her knees and turning around so that she interrupted the animated conversation that Tomoyo and Eriol were having, she politely requested that Eriol and herself switch spots for just a second. Shrugging, Eriol agreed and they both took the other's seat.

"Hey," Eriol greeted once he was settled into Sakura's original spot.

"Hey." Syaoran replied. "What's with them?" He asked.

"With who?"

"Kinomoto-san and Daidouji-san. They're acting funny." He specified.

Eriol shook his head. "Beats me. I think Daidouji-san is acting perfectly normal." Syaoran could've sworn that he heard the tiniest bit of affection in his voice. But he guessed that Eriol was just as secretive about his crush on Tomoyo as she was about hers on him. Not that it was a secret to anyone _else._

They then sat in silence for the next few minutes, not having anything else to say. Eriol looked out the window just as Sakura had, so Syaoran was left with his thoughts, once again, about Sakura, but about Tomoyo this time, too. He couldn't hear anything what with the other students on the bus talking, but the two girls were sitting directly behind him. Surely he would've heard something. Or, they could've been talking very quietly about something they didn't want others to hear...

**_xxxxxx_**

"What did you say to him!" Sakura hissed into her best friend's ear.

Tomoyo, not the least bit disturbed, answered, "Nothing! Calm down, will you?"

Sakura folded her arms, a cute pout decorating her angelic face. She glanced at Tomoyo through the corners of her suspicious eyes. In the same whisper-voice, she stated, "He's suspicious. He said that _you_ said something underneath _your_ stinky breath, and just now, he asked me if you were alright!"

Tomoyo giggled quietly. "_Stinky,_ Sakura-chan? What are you, in the second grade?" She giggled again and only stopped when Sakura nudged her lightly in the rib. With a patient smile on her face, she sighed. "Oh, Sakura-chan, he's not suspicious about anything! He didn't hear what I said. He was just asking if I was okay."

"What did you say, anyway?"

"I just said that it was..." she paused, "hard for you."

Sakura's jaw dropped. "Tomoyo-chan!"

"He didn't hear me!" She repeated. "And even if he did hear me, he wouldn't understand what I was talking about. Just calm down, alright?" Tomoyo began to roll her eyes, sighing as she recited, as if she had said it many times before, "He has absolutely no clue that you are starting to have very strong feelings for him - "

"_Tomoyo-chan!_" She hissed once more.

"Sakura-chan - "

"I'm never going to tell you anything again for the rest of my life, _as long as I live!_" This statement, beyond all other things, amused Tomoyo to no end. She began laughing as loud as Sakura would allow her so that the boys sitting in front of them would not be tempted to turn around and check on them. This laughter, contagious as it was, caught onto Sakura, who would not allow herself to laugh. But could not help but smile.

"Oh, _really?_" Tomoyo countered when she had paused for breath. "You, Kinomoto Sakura-chan, not telling me another secret of yours for the rest of your life? Now _that's_ going to be a challenge." She giggled.

Sakura shook her head, that smile still upon her face. "You're impossible." She said.

"Thank you!" Tomoyo replied sarcastically. "Now can you and Eriol switch spots again?"

Getting up, Sakura asked, "Eager to sit beside your beloved?" She winked. On her way out into the isle, Tomoyo hit her on the side playfully. Sakura laughed, turning to the boys. "Thanks, Eriol-kun. You can sit beside her again, now." He nodded in thanks and took his original seat as Sakura took her own.

"Is everything okay?" Syaoran asked, once she was back.

"Perfectly fine," she answered, flashing her pearly whites, which instantly got Syaoran to believe her. They always did.

"Okay."

**_xxxxxx_**

Thirty minutes had passed and they were spent just like the first thirty minutes. Sakura marvelling at all the things they saw, and Syaoran agreeing with amazement only to please her. Chiharu and Yamazaki doing their couple-ish, vomitous things, and Tomoyo and Eriol absorbed in their own world, talking as if there was nobody else on the bus. Yep, that was normal.

Suddenly, out of the noise that all the students were making, Terada-sensei stood up from his seat at the front of the bus and cupped his mouth. "Everybody...we're here!"

Every single student grabbed the seat in front of them and used it to help them see forward. They had indeed arrived at Camp Sunshine. It was exactly how Sakura thought it would be. It was surrounded by everything green. Green bushes, trees, and pretty flowers that she was just dying to take a whiff of. Everyone cheered.

"Quiet down now, everybody. When we get off the bus, be sure to follow me, and stay together!"

The bus rolled to a stop behind the other bus. In one single file line, the seniors began stepping off the bus, giving their thanks to the bus driver.

They were lead underneath a wooden arch which read "Welcome to Camp Sunshine!" painted brightly in all sorts of different colours. Before them was a trail which lead in to the bowls of the forest. But it did not look scary. Instead, it gave off a sense of adventure which greatly interested the students.

All three adult chaperones and every single senior stood huddled together underneath the wooden arch. Though they were not scared by the forest, they were most certainly creeped out by the silence. The buses had already left them. Terada-sensei, who organized the trip, thought that they would've been met by a host or a hostess by now.

They were all scared into silence.

"Hello?" Terada-sensei called out into the forest. No answer came.

"Why isn't anyone here to show us to our cabins?" Sakura whispered into Tomoyo's ear who was standing near to Eriol, who in turn was standing near Syaoran. She looked at all of them in curiousity but no one could answer her question.

Then, out of the silence, a rumbling could be heard. The students and the chaperones looked to each other puzzled, wondering what on earth that noise was. Closer they huddled, thinking that this was exactly the perfect moment in a horror movie in which they would all be abducted by some psycho-axe killer and then later tortured to insanity -

Okay, not so much that. But they were extremely creeped out.

With each passing second, the rumbling got louder which could've only meant one thing - the rumbling was getting closer. The shadow of whatever was coming was clear on the forest trail. And then, turning the corner of the trail, there was a woman. Sitting on a wagon lead by a horse? What the fu -

"Welcome to Camp Sunshine!" She yelled. Following behind her was another woman on a horse-lead wagon and a man on another one. They were all dressed in beige shorts and cotton white polo-shirts with caps that had the word "Sunshine" scrawled across it. All three were smiling very brightly, each with a big bag full of something perched beside them.

The first woman who was holding a battery-powered microphone turned it on and said, "Hello, senior students of Seiju High! Once again, welcome to Camp Sunshine!" The horse was called to a stop just in front of them, and as were the other two horses, one behind the other. "My name is Saya and I'll be your hostess during your stay here at the camp. Students, please board one of our three wagons."

The students began doing as they were told, but not before they tried petting the horses. The woman named Saya smiled. "This is Poochie." She said, introducing the horse to the students, "He's been my horse since as long as I can remember. You can all pet him later, though, after we're done giving you our tour."

The students obeyed. They could tell right away that the staff members at Camp Sunshine were very nice indeed.

Once all the students were aboard the wagons, Saya said, "Are we all set?"

"Yes!" They replied excitedly.

"Let's get going then." She then whipped the horse lightly and turned it around, the other wagons following behind them. "This, students of Seiju High," she explained, "is a tradition at Camp Sunshine. We have been doing this for all our visitors since we opened nearly ten years ago." She paused when the horse whinnied softly. "These are our welcome wagons."

"Welcome Wagons?" Someone echoed.

"Yes," she replied cheerfully, "our Welcome Wagons are used for giving tours around the place. Our Welcome Wagons also come with gifts."

"Where are the gifts?" Someone else asked confusedly.

Turning around brieftly, Saya smiled. "Right here beside me." She beckoned to the bag beside her. "Sunshine Staff," she announced, obviously speaking to the other two who were taking care of the other students aboard the other wagons, "Hand out your gifts!" This got the students very excited. They all began talking, wondering what could possibly be in the bag.

"Now," Saya said, "these gifts were very hard to make and they all come with love from every Sunshine Staff member who created it. We hope you like them!" The teacher chaperone who was given the bag opened it and took a peek inside. Laughing, they held one out for the students to see.

In the hand of the chaperone was a cutely stitched, stuffed, yellow sun with a face. All the students laughed. "I love it!" Sakura said, picking at it. She smiled. "Li-kun, aren't they adorable?" She asked him, pointing at the sun that he was handed. He was holding it tightly, not as amused as everyone else.

"Yeah, it's nice." He said.

Sakura frowned a little. "Don't you like it?"

"Of course." He replied quickly.

She eyed him unsurely, not sure whether or not to believe him. But then she shrugged it off with a smile and returned her attention back to Saya.

Still speaking into the microphone, Saya said, "We are now about to pass our archery station." And right on cue, the horse lead them passed a grassy field where targets were seen standing in a row, and a few feet before them were a set of bows and arrows. "We will be giving you brief lessons on how to do this every day." The seniors nodded in amazement. Except for Syaoran, of course. He was probably the only one who had done archery before.

"Now we are about to pass the mountain you will all be climbing during your stay here at the camp." Every single head on each wagon lifted to see the enormous mountain that they were supposed to climb. "It is not very hard, so none of you should be worried. But when climbing that mountain, we must warn you to be very careful." Syaoran was instantly worried for Sakura. She wasn't exactly very poised.

The horses continued to trot along the trail, bringing them passed all the fields, the arts and crafts centre, the performing arts centre, the hiking trails, and the mess hall where they would have breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Everyone was very impressed with what they had at Camp Sunshine. But then became even more impressed when they had come across the lake.

"This is our beautiful lake," Saya stretched out an arm, beckoning towards it. "This pier," she explained, "has been used by every visitor we've ever had at Camp Sunshine. Everyone, and I mean _everyone_ has jumped off of this pier, so I guess you could say that swimming in this lake is mandatory." Everyone laughed.

"It would be fun to swim in there," Sakura commented, "Right, Tomoyo-chan?"

Tomoyo-chan nodded vigorously in agreement.

"And just beyond the lake, beyond those trees..." the students waited, "is the waterfall."

They looked into the direction of where her finger was pointing and their breaths caught in their throats. It was a truly breath-taking sight, obviously. Even Syaoran was truly impressed. He'd seen many waterfalls in his life, but none compared to the beauty that the one at Camp Sunshine contained. The water fell from it almost gracefully, spilling into the calm lake, practically inviting them to jump off of it.

Syaoran couldn't help himself but to look for Sakura's reaction. Her face was probably the most amazed than anyone else's. He could see it in her eyes. When her face was like that, her eyes were no longer emerald. He could see the reflection of the water in her eyes, mixing in with the haunting green. When the sun reached her eyes in that perfect way, there was absolutely no emerald in there. Just pure loveliness.

God, he was such a romantic.

Their Welcome Wagon tour finished when they were shown to their cabins. They were taken to the girl's cabins first, and so every female climbed off of the wagon, thanking their staff member and waving goodbye to the boys.

"Bye, Li-kun," Sakura said softly, turning to him as she went.

"Bye," he whispered.

Saya heard their goodbye and added, "Oh, you'll be seeing them soon. We're just going to get you all settled and then we're all going to have dinner together." Sakura and Syaoran nodded. But dinner was still a few hours away. It was still only in the middle of the late afternoon. But still, it cheered the both of them up a little, knowing they'd see each other in a bit.

As Sakura turned around to join Tomoyo, Saya stopped her. "Yes?" Sakura asked.

Saya gave her a knowing smile. "And if you'd like to see that male friend of yours sooner, my dear, that trail behind your cabin, leading back into the woods, is a direct trail to the boy's cabins. Visiting hours between the two cabins are only restricted after 9:00pm."

Sakura blushed, but Saya had already turned around to lead the boys to their own cabins, taking the horses and the wagons along with them. Well then, she decided she'd visit him later. She certainly looked forward to the rest of the trip and spending it with him.

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**R & R, thank you :)**

Signing Off,  
Agent08 - _My life as a secret agent _xD


	13. The Superman Theory

**Agent08 Reporting for Duty!**

Now on with chapter thirteen!

**Saving Syaoran**

_The Superman Theory_

The girls got settled into their cabins quickly. They paired up with their friends and decided which bunk beds they would be sleeping on. Tomoyo and Sakura of course picked each other, and Tomoyo, having won the rock-paper-scissors match, got the top bunk. They all began to unpack their things and changed into different clothing. Others went to use the bathroom.

When they were somewhat alone with only very few girls inside their cabin, Sakura told Tomoyo, "Ne, Tomoyo-chan, did you see that trail behind our cabins, leading into the forest?" Tomoyo nodded, not paying much attention to the conversation. "Saya-san told me that it leads straight to the boys' cabins! And we can visit there whenever we want." She finished her sentence with an excited tone.

Tomoyo then became very interested. "Really? That's awesome."

"Let's visit the guys after we're done unpacking?" She suggested, "I'm sure Chiharu-chan will want to see Yamazaki-kun. Not to mention you wanting to see Eriol-kun," she added slyly with a playful wink.

Her best friend dropped her jaw jokingly and said, "And you wanting to see Li-kun?"

Sakura's jaw dropped her jaw for real. "You be quiet about that. They're only fresh feelings, you know that! I only started feeling this for him when..."

"When you asked him that day to meet you at the park. I know, I know," Tomoyo interrupted, already bored of their conversation. "You've told me a million times. And don't get me wrong, Sakura-chan, I absolutely love to hear the same story over and over again - " Sakura stuck her tongue out, " - but you'd think there would be a limit as to how many times you told me..."

"It's just that," Sakura began, "they're so new to me, and yet, they're so strong. I really don't understand. I mean, these are _strong_ feelings, Tomoyo-chan. Like, really strong. Unlike any other feeling I've had for another human being. I must really like him," she sighed sadly, as if having feelings for Syaoran was a bad thing.

Tomoyo did not say anything for a while. The silence soon began to disturb Sakura. So she glanced at her friend through the corner of her eye and saw her smiling amusedly. "What's so funny?" She asked curiously.

Taking a few steps backwards she replied in a sing-song voice, "Sakura-chan is falling in _looooove!_"

Sakura dropped her jaw again taking a swipe at her with the current piece of clothing that she was holding. She missed, of course, and thought that that was probably why she took those few steps backwards. "Shut your mouth!" She exclaimed, though they were alone by this time. "You don't know what you're talking about,"

"No, no, my dear friend, _you_ don't know what you're talking about."

"I do too! Besides, what do you know about falling in love? It's not like you're in love with Eriol-kun." Sakura asked with a smirk on her face.

Tomoyo blushed deeply, turning away and hiding her face in her hands. "I _am_ in love with Eriol-kun, don't make me say it, Sakura-chan!"

Sakura burst into laughter, absolutely loving the way that Tomoyo reacted whenever she mentioned the "L" word and "Eriol-kun" in the same sentence. It was so difficult for her to say with just her best friend around. She wondered how on earth she could possibly say it to his face.

Belching out the last of her laughter Sakura said, "Are we done packing yet? Let's go visit the boys!"

"I'm coming," Tomoyo replied, linking arms with her and stepping outside of the cabin.

The afternoon air was refreshing. It wasn't so easy being cooped up in a bus for so many hours. The spring sun shone down on the two girls as they walked silently onto the trail, smiling at their surroundings. They certainly were not in Kansas anymore. Call me cheesy if you must, but Camp Sunshine really did seem like a place somewhere over the rainbow.

"Which cabin do you think it is?" Tomoyo asked Sakura once they came to the clearing and the four boy cabins were seen.

Immediately Sakura answered, "That one." Holding up her arm she stuck her index finger out at the cabin nearest to them.

Tomoyo gave her a look. "How do you know?"

Shrugging she answered, "I don't know. I just do, I guess."

Still arm in arm they walked up to it, making their way to the door to knock and ask if they could come in. Just as they'd walked passed a cabin window Tomoyo stopped dead in her tracks, her eyes wide and a very knowing smile spread across her gentle face. "Shhh, Sakura-chan!" She hissed, dragging her best friend closer to the window.

The window had been slightly ajar allowing some air to get inside. Tomoyo, being the closest one to the window, had heard something she thought of importance. Ignoring Sakura's looks of confusion and such, they huddled down low behind the window, their ears nearly touching the bark of the cabin wood.

Inside, Syaoran and Eriol were unpacking their things, oblivious to the two girls standing just outside their window.

Syaoran's voice floated melodically into Sakura's ear like a lullaby. "Uh, no, Hiirigazawa." He began kind of uncomfortably. "I don't really like any girl at this school."

_Because I'm in love with one._

Behind the window Sakura did not allow Tomoyo to see her face fall. But Tomoyo could tell that she was obviously hurt by his words.

"Really?" Eriol asked, surprised. "Not even one of your fan girls?"

_If Sakura is a fan girl, then yes_. "No."

Eriol continued asking more questions. "There is no girl in the entire school that you feel like you could be honest with? That you know can trust you with everything they have?"

Syaoran snorted. "You're getting romantic on me, Hiirigazawa."

Laughing he replied, "Don't ignore the question, Li-san."

Syaoran shook his head. "No."

_Because I'm lying to Sakura. And she can't trust me. She shouldn't trust me._

Eriol raised an eyebrow. "What about Sakura-san?"

Sakura froze. She did not want to hear what he had to say. She had heard enough. But she was glued to the cabin, completely paralyzed. She squeezed Tomoyo's hand tightly for support. She squeezed right on back.

With Syaoran it seemed like Sakura was not the only one to have frozen. "What about her?"

"You two seem to be spending a lot of time together. And I mean, _a lot_ since you've moved here. You're really close. And you confide in her, don't you? And she confides in you, doesn't she? This sounds like the making of a more-than-friends relationship to me in my opinion." Eriol raised his eyebrow knowingly.

"Why do you care?" Syaoran countered, hoping to not have to answer his questions.

Of course he couldn't tell Syaoran the truth about why he cared so much. He spent a lot of time with Tomoyo, Sakura's best friend. And of course, Sakura was bound to tell Tomoyo certain intimate things...and those certain intimate things may have been told to him...and he might have been asked to do some spy work.

"Stop trying to change the subject," he blurted, not knowing what to say, "do you have feelings for Sakura-san?"

Now she really had heard enough.

Not wanting to hear what his answer could have been Sakura bolted from the spot, quiet as a mouse but as fast as a cheetah, back to the cabin that she shared with her friends.

Tomoyo followed behind, panting to keep up with her, though there was a smile on her face. There was a reason she was so far behind. And it wasn't just because Tomoyo hated to run. Sakura may not have wanted to hear his answer but she certainly did. She would have to thank Eriol later for doing her dirty work.

Sakura entered the cabin happy to find herself alone. But not for long. Her best friend stepped through the door, perfectly calm and collected. Sakura on the other hand was sweating not only because she had been running but because she was so very close to hearing whether or not her crush felt the same way for her.

"I can't believe Eriol-kun thinks that!" She looked at Tomoyo desperately, "I mean, we don't spend _that_ much time together. Does it really look like he has feelings for me, Tomoyo-chan?"

Tomoyo shrugged. "Would that be so bad? I mean, that would be the best thing, right? If he had feelings for you, too?"

"Yeah, but..." Sakura was fighting to hold herself together, "I've never liked a boy this way with him liking me back! I can't help it if I'm worried beyond belief..."

Tomoyo nodded in understanding. "It's going to be alright, Sakura-chan, just calm down."

It was as if she had not even heard her. "Do you think I'm just being another fan girl? You and Chiharu are like, the only two girls in our grade that don't have feelings for him 'cause you two are already in love with someone else! I can't even believe that I like him. He's so solemn and quiet and...like, earlier today, he was so utterly unamused by those sunshine plushies..."

Tomoyo took this momentary pause to pat her friend on the back.

She continued to rant on and on about what she felt for Syaoran, how it literally scared her to death, and how she went over a list of things in her mind that both made her think that he didn't like her back, and that he did. And of course, being the great friend that she is, Tomoyo listened intently, thinking quietly to herself.

Yes, she had heard his answer. But she was not going to let Sakura know for obvious reasons. Sakura was not prepared to know the answer.

Syaoran had said _maybe_.

And we all know what _maybe_ can mean, don't we?

Tomoyo was more than satisfied.

**_xxxxxx_**

Very early the next morning a loud trumpet could be heard, wakening everyone from their sleep like a rooster did on a farm. Their first dinner at Camp Sunshine the other night was spent quietly. Sakura, still not quite recovered from the other day's events, kept to herself but made sure to keep smiling like usual, but she was not quite sure if anybody fell for it.

But Sakura tried her best not to think about anything the remainder of their evening. It was only eight forty-five at night when they were all literally forced and ordered to go to bed. The students were told that they would be waking up quite early the next morning to do some traditional Camp Sunshine activity.

"Rise and shine!" A female teacher chaperone hollered walking into their cabin. "Get your hiking gear on, kids! It's hiking day!"

Sakura rolled onto her back on her bed, yawning loudly. Lifting her leg she flung it upwards, making sure her foot hit the bottom of the bunk above her. Tomoyo wakened on top, allowing a muffled sound to escape from her lips. "Tomoyo-chan...what time is it?" Sakura asked groggily, her eyes still closed.

Tomoyo lifed her arm lazily, taking a brief look at her wrist watch. "Four o'clock," she answered.

"What?" Another girl shrieked from her bed.

Sakura's eyes immediately flew open. Four o'clock in the morning? She sat up in her bed, her head swivelling to take a good look outside the windows. It was still dark and it was indeed very cold without her blanket covering her entire self. Was it healthy to get up this early in the morning to just freaking _hike?_

"You heard me, ladies," the chaperone said strictly, "get your hiking gear on. I want teeth brushed, faces washed and hiking gear on in twenty minutes. Meet me at the front once you're done."

So reluctantly - _very_ reluctantly - the girls did as they were told and got up from their beds. Grabbing their toiletries from their baggages they stomped off to the bathrooms. Having finished, they slipped on their boots and slung their big hiking backpacks over their shoulders. Right on time, exactly twenty minutes or so later, all girls were present at the front of their cabins.

"Let's get walking," the chaperone insisted, taking a different route to the boys' cabins. They would be meeting them at their cabins and would take a welcome wagon to the bottom of the mountain that they were shown the other day. Yeah, they were told that they would be climbing that particular mountain but they had no idea it would be literally the very first thing they would do the next day so _early_.

"Going to start acting normal with Li-kun today?" Asked Tomoyo, linking arms once again with Sakura.

Sakura shrugged. "Possibly."

Groaning Tomoyo replied, "Sakura-chan! Last night at dinner was so awkward. He didn't fall for your fake smiles and everything else. I know he didn't. He thinks something is wrong."

"Nothing's wrong!" She insisted.

"I really don't believe you and I'm sure that he doesn't either, but try to prove that to him anyway!"

"Make me," she answered childishly, sticking out her tongue.

They arrived at the boy's cabins where they were waiting patiently for the welcome wagons. Just ahead of the two were Syaoran, Eriol and Yamazaki all standing together, talking quietly to themselves. Yamazaki was the first to see the girls coming and jogged up to his girlfriend, taking her by the waist. Eriol smiled brightly at Tomoyo who shyly smiled back.

"Hey." Syaoran called out to Sakura who was the only one not staring deeply into another gender's eyes.

She lifted her head slowly from the ground, still avoiding his eyes like she had done the other night. Grinning she replied, "Hey, Li-kun. Good sleep last night?"

"You could say that." He replied.

She did not want to continue the pointless conversation that she didn't want to have. All that she did want to do was just steer clear from Syaoran until she was fully recovered from the conversation that she had overheard. She didn't even consider what it was that Syaoran wanted to do, which was to stay close to her throughout the entire day.

Completely the opposite, don't you think?

Saving Sakura from having to talk anymore, the welcome wagons arrived. They all clambered aboard lazily, still not quite completely awake. The horses were whipped lightly to get them trotting and in no time at all they were at the bottom of the mountain being asked to step off the wagon. The ride certainly didn't last long enough.

"Everybody present?" Terada-sensei called out to the group of seniors instead of doing attendance.

"Yes," they literally yawned in reply.

"Alright then. Before we get on the mountain there are some things that we must say..." he flipped through some papers on a clipboard, "alright, everybody, get a partner. We want to get climbing very quickly so get one now or we'll be picking the partners for ourselves." He paused to allow the students to confer.

"Tomo - " Sakura began, turning around to partner up with her best friend. She was both insulted and happy to see her best friend standing shoulder to shoulder with Eriol Hiirigazawa, her partner. Tomoyo was smirking at her as if trying hard not to laugh or wink or do whatever it is that Tomoyo always does.

"Sorry, Sakura-chan." She said, hardly meaning it at all.

"It's okay," Sakura replied, "I'll just partner up with Chi - " she turned around, of course, to find Chiharu in the arms of her boyfriend who she should've known would've been her first pick for her partner. "Nevermind..." she muttered quietly to herself, walking over to Rika, her next choice for a partner. "Rika-chan will you - ?"

Rika was standing quietly and shyly by Terada-sensei, her arms tucked behind her back. A slight blush flamed across her cheeks. "Um, I'm hiking with Terada-sensei, Sakura-chan. I'm helping him carry our breakfast onto the mountain." She allowed Sakura to see her completely full backpack.

"Oh." Damn.

"Hey...?" She heard quietly from behind her. She turned around slowly, knowing who it was already. Her eyes met with Syaoran's hesitant pair of orbs, half looking at her half staring at the dirt on the ground as if it was the most fascinating thing he'd ever seen. "Want to be my partner?" He asked politely.

It was really hard to avoid him when he was so _freaking_ adorable.

"Sure," she said with a smile.

She knew she had said "make me" to Tomoyo but she never knew that she would take her seriously.

Immediately after Sakura had accepted Terada-sensei began speaking again. "Everybody have a partner?" Everyone nodded. "Okay then. The next thing that we must address to you...it is important that we stress to you how you must be _very_ careful on this mountain. Watch where you step and do _not_ stray from the group. Everyone understood?"

"Yes," the class answered in unison.

"We'll be eating the breakfast that the staff at Camp Sunshine has prepared for you once we reach the top so make sure you work up an apetite!"

With that they were all on their way, pair by pair stepping onto the trail leading higher and higher onto the mountain. Closer to both their destination and the heavens. But who knows? Heaven for a certain pair of seniors doesn't have to be that high into the sky. In fact, it could be right on ground level standing right next to them.

**_xxxxxx_**

Syaoran wasn't reall an outdoors-y type but still, he had the physique for it. Back in China he didn't really hike a lot but he could handle anything. He was Syaoran Li for God's sakes. After a little more than half an hour he and the class were already more than half way there. And he hadn't even broken a sweat.

Then what could possibly explain why he was one of the two people behind everybody else?

It was because of the other person, that's why. His partner, Sakura. But I am certainly not saying that Sakura was not fit for this type of activity either. She was more than fit. She was captain of the Tomoeda Warriors for crying out loud! She was the fastest sprinter around _and_ she ran long distance. She could tackle this mountain with a smile on her face.

With a girl this fierce about physical activities, you'd think it would take a lot more than freaking _scenery_ and such to distract her from being the first to getting to the top.

Syaoran stayed in one spot as he continued to do what he had been doing for the past thirty minutes or so, which was watch Sakura marvel at all the plants and pretty flowers. She was currently bent over a purple looking thing that was sitting near the edge of the cliff that they were both standing on. He'd already warned her to be careful. Afterall, everybody knew how clumsy she could get.

"Oh Li-kun, the petals are so soft. You should feel them," she suggested, gesturing for him to come over.

"No thanks," he replied, just really wanting to get a move on. "Kinomoto, don't you think we should start heading up again? I mean, the class is already so far ahead of us. The chaperone didn't even bother waiting for us." He didn't want to seem urgent but he really just wanted to reach the top of the mountain already.

"Sorry, Li-kun, is this bothering you?" She said slowly, apologetically.

Damn. When she said it like that, she made it _not_ bother him.

"No," he said pathetically. He needed to grow a back bone when it came to her.

"Perhaps you're right." She sighed. "But!" She swiped her hand over the flower and plucked it from its spot. She turned around to face Syaoran holding it to her chest. "Only when you smell the flower first," she said. Syaoran rolled his eyes not able to take anymore of her childishness. He was already really hungry.

"Kinomoto, come on. Quit it. Let's just go, okay?" She was completely oblivious to the annoyance in his voice. Instead, she took a step backwards hoping to show to him that she would not go with him until he smelt the stupid flower. "Kinomoto, don't do that!" He nearly yelled. She was edging very close to the skirt of the plateau. He didn't want her going any further.

Her face fell, a little hurt. "You didn't have to yell at me, Li-ku - _aaaaaaahhhhh!_"

Her shrill, high pitched scream rang into his ears. It seemed that she had taken one step too far on the cliff. "Fuck!" Syaoran screamed, reacting immediately and running forward. He bent downward and looked over the edge. His heart beating fast, he was filled with relief when he saw Sakura hanging tightly onto a vine.

"Shit!" He cursed again.

He heard a voice from above him, most probably from a higher cliff. "What's going on?" The voice called seriously, sternly. It was Terada-sensei, he knew. It was impossible for anyone not to have heard Sakura's scream.

"Terada-sensei!" Syaoran hollered, eyes still glued onto Sakura's flailing body as she tried to climb onto the vine, "Kinomoto-san is in danger! Kinomto-san is - "

"_Aaaaahhhh!_"

Sakura's weight and flailing had not helped her slightly. Instead, the vine dipped lower down the cliff, bringing Sakura down along with it. The sudden movement had made her slip lower onto the vine, just barely hanging on. "Li-kun! Li-kun, help!" She cried loudly.

"Hold on!" He told her, lying on his stomach on top of the cliff. He then gripped the vine tightly, heaving upwards with every last bit of strength that he had. He was saving her life again, he knew, but this time was completely different from all the rest. He was not saving her this time just because he knew it was the right thing to do, but also because he was madly in love with this girl and didn't know what he'd do if he couldn't.

"Li-kun..." he heard her whimper.

"It's going to be okay, just keep holding on." He replied.

_Come on, Sakura, give me strength!_

And she did.

Once she was close enough he let go of the vine and held her by the arms. He held her tightly, almost suffocatingly and brought her onto the cliff. She was hugging him, her head buried into his chest, sobbing like an infant.

It was as if he did not know what he had just done. His eyes went oval, his arms no longer around her quivering body. But once it registered into his mind he smiled to himself wrapping his arms around her waist once more, rocking her back and forth and muttering comforting things into her ear.

Terada-sensei came bounding down the mountain with the three other chaperones, some students following closely behind. Tomoyo being one of them.

"What on earth happened?" She asked with extreme worry.

Still hugging her Syaoran replied, "She fell."

"Again?" One student asked, wide-eyed.

Tomoyo gave them a nasty glare but did not bother to retort. Instead she crouched down beside Sakura and held her from behind. Sakura's sobbing had lessened and her tear stained cheeks were the only piece of evidence to show that she had been doing so. She wiped at them, a shaky smile on her lips. "I'm alright," she told everybody. "Li-kun saved me again."

Terada-sensei looked at him, clearly relieved and grateful. "We need to give this boy an award or something," he muttered quietly to himself. However, everyone heard and began to laugh, which lifted the tension. "Kinomoto-san, do you have any injuries?" He asked her, concerned.

Reluctantly unfurling herself from Syaoran's arms she showed him the lone cut on her hand that she recieved while falling. It was a very minor cut and was nothing that a band-aid could not fix. Li-kun, Tomoyo and all the other students left Sakura alone to be tended to by Terada-sensei who had of course, packed a first-aid kit.

Syaoran was thinking quietly to himself, just glad that she was not hurt in any major way. Tomoyo had smiled at him politely, nearly choked him for hugging him too tightly when she thanked him for saving her best friend's life again.

Every student by then was sitting down on the wide cliff, stretching or yawning. Once Terada-sensei had finished up on Sakura's cut he looked at their surroundings and conferred with the other chaperones. The students watched with interest as they whispered quietly to each other at times glancing at the cliff they were on or staring out into the view before them.

"Alright then," Terada-sensei said with a shrug. "Considering today's events," he continued, "I don't think that we should be climbing any higher on this mountain."

Some students groaned, others yelled with cheer. One student had yelled, "Terada-sensei, don't tell me that we climbed this stupid mountain for nothing!"

"Yeah!" Another chimed, "Why'd we have to climb this mountain so early in the morning, anyway?"

Terada-sensei smiled. "That question will be answered in approximately..." he glanced at his watch, "ten..."

In the two seconds that he was counting down, Syaoran had been joined by Sakura. She hugged him again and whispered her thanks into his ear. "I'm onto you," she told him jokingly once she pulled away from the hug. She smiled at him gratefully.

"You are?" Syaoran asked her, confused.

"Yeah, I am," she answered smugly, "I know why you're here." He froze. _Fuck._ "You're here because I needed someone like you around. You know? Someone to save me. My own personal superman."

"Five..."

Syaoran sighed with relief, returning the smile. "Pretty nice theory." He commented, taking her by the arm and placing in her palm, the purple flower. "But only if that makes you my own personal Lois Lane." He replied slyly, closing her fingers over the stem of the flower.

"Three, two...one."

Approximately after Terada-sensei had finished his countdown, the sky was illuminated with a beautiful, blinding mixture of orange, yellow and red. Every student had awed in amazement as they were bathed in the light of the break of dawn.

Heaven doesn't have to be that high in the sky. In fact, it could be right on ground level standing right next to you.

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**Call me Miss Corny! Or Cheesy. Whichever sounds cuter. R & R :D**

**Wishing You the best of the Holidays and a Happy New Year**,  
Agent08 - _My life as a secret agent _xD


	14. The Lessons Learned

**Agent08 Reporting for Duty!**

Now on with chapter fourteen!

**Saving Syaoran**

_The Lessons Learned_

Have I ever mentioned how hard it is to witness all this stuff? Seriously. It's tough watching Sakura do all those clumsy things and watch as Syaoran saves her. It gets boring sometimes and also pretty repetitive. Like I said, it's a tough job witnessing all this stuff. But you know, someone's got to tell you this story. (You guys can thank me later.)

But for my sake, you'd think one of these two would start getting a clue by now. But density is common when in love, wouldn't you agree? Also common when in love would be the cheesy moments that would sometimes get one to either vomit or melt with warm fuzzy feelings. I have mixed feelings whenever I witness those cheesy moments.

You guys be the judge of the following cheesy moments and tell me how you feel. Deal?

"Otou-san, I'm fine..." Sakura assured quietly over the phone. The senior students had just climbed down the mountain (safely), and once they reached the bottom, Terada-sensei had called up Sakura's father just to let him know what had happened. I'm sure you'd want to know if something like that ever happened to _your_ child!

"Sakura-san, if you want to go home..." her dad said.

"Otou-san! I'm fine for the last time. I don't need to go home. I was just being a little clumsy again."

Tomoyo giggled from the far side of the room. A little? Sakura scoffed at her.

She heard her dad sigh calmingly on the other end of the phone. "Alright then, Sakura-san. But please, no more accidents like that. Terada-sensei gave you those partners for a reason. To be careful. Which you obviously were not. But I'm not going to lecture you, sweetheart, I know you'll be even more careful next time. Won't you, my dear?" He asked caringly.

Sakura nodded. "Of course, otou-san. I love you."

"I love you too, sweetheart. And do thank that Syaoran Li boy who saved your life."

"Sure thing, otou-san. Goodbye!"

Tomoyo walked up to her, shaking her head slowly from side to side. "Why are you so clumsy again, Sakura-chan? I can only imagine how worried your otou-san was. No wonder Touya-kun was so overprotective of you! You can't take care of yourself even with the cards at your disposal." She said it almost scoldingly.

"Tomoyo-chan! _Shhh!"_"Sakura said underneath her breath for she had mentioned her biggest secret that only Tomoyo knew of. Or so she thought.

She rolled her eyes. "No one heard me, Sakura-chan. I know when there are other people around."

"You don't think I'm trying to be less clumsy?" Sakura retorted half angrily, "I can't help it if I'm really clumsy. I don't want my dad to always be so worried about me." She sighed and held out her arm for Tomoyo to take. "Let's just go to dinner, okay? I don't want to think about what happened today anymore."

Tomoyo agreed silently and took her arm.

What Sakura had said was half true. Yes, she did not want to think about how she fell off the cliff. But she could not stop thinking about the conversation she had with Syaoran. His own personal Lois Lane, huh? If she was correct, Lois Lane was the lady who was always saved by Superman, and also his love interest.

She sighed dreamily.

The two seniors made their way to the mess hall. The mess hall was where all breakfasts (the ones they didn't spend at the top of a mountain), lunches, and dinners took place for all who stayed at Camp Sunshine. There were three lengthy tables where any student could sit. But for dinner, it was a rule that everyone sit at the table in the middle. It seated more than enough for the sixty-something seniors.

Sakura and Tomoyo joined Chiharu at the table. Eriol, Syaoran and Yamazaki sat across from them, smiling as they sat. Once everyone had gotten a seat and they had said what they always said before eating, they dug into the meal of the night. But not before Terada-sensei made a short announcement...

"One more thing," he began, raising his glass, "a toast to Syaoran Li-san for, once again, saving the life of our Sakura Kinomoto-san."

Fan girls fumed as some boys grumbled angrily. Sakura blushed and drank to the toast. Syaoran nodded at those who smiled at him but did not drink. He did not need to be thanked. He was very modest like that. Even when Sakura thanked him he had never said "You're welcome." He didn't find it necessary.

"About that..." Sakura said to him once everybody had begun eating and were absorbed into conversations of their own, "I was on the phone with my 'tou-san just a few moments ago. He was told by Terada-sensei about how you saved my life. He sends his thanks." She said sincerely.

"No big deal," he replied, shrugging.

Sakura smiled at him encouragingly. "Of course it's a big deal. This is like, the millionth time you've saved me."

"The fourth." He corrected. Not that he kept count...

"See what I mean?" She exclaimed.

"It's not a big deal," he repeated.

"Do you not want to be thanked?" She asked quietly.

"It's not necessary. I know when people are thankful."

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "First you're Superman, now you're a mind-reader?"

"I'm rubbing off of Daidouji-san," he replied jokingly.

She tilted her head to the side and gave him a confused look. "I don't get what you mean."

Right. She didn't know about how it was Tomoyo that knew even before he himself knew that he had feelings for her. "Nevermind," he said, shaking his head. "I can just tell when people are thankful. It's obvious." He smirked. "And it's very easy to read your expressions." It was quite true. If one looked at her as closely as he did, they'd think the very same thing.

"Oh really now?" Sakura retorted. "You find it easy to read me?"

"Yeah, in fact, I do," he answered.

She smiled childishly at him. "Well..." she said, sticking out her tongue. He laughed at her adorable reactions. He loved it when she did that. "If I'm so easy to read...what am I thinking right now?" She asked, turning her face to the side and hiding herself with her hands. At this, Syaoran laughed again. Was she serious about that?

"Kinomoto," he said sternly, though the smile on his own face was clearly visible, "stop that."

"Nu-uh," she said, giggling.

"Kinomoto!" He exclaimed playfully, "You know that in order for me to read your expressions, I will have to see your face?" Without thinking, he pushed his plate to the side and stretched out his arms to take her face in his hands. Underneath his palms he felt her face go stoney and the smile that was once on her face, disappear completely.

This movement had instantly caught Tomoyo's attention. She was suddenly pulled away from the paradise-like dimension she had been in with Eriol, sucked into the one that her best friend was in. Covering her face with her hands and Syaoran, holding each cheek lightly. Her eyes went oval as she looked to Eriol to see whether or not he'd seen it too. His eyes were just as round as her own.

"It'd be easier for me to read you..." he said slowly, removing one hand from her cheek and pulling her own away from her eyes, "if you weren't covering your eyes like that..." he then used the other to do the same thing. Instead of letting go of them, he held on tightly, not exactly aware of what he was doing.

She glanced at him shyly, her eyes roaming his own face, as if trying to read him herself. "Better...?"

Before answering, he squinted his eyes at her, staring deeply into those emerald orbs of hers. He studied her intently, hoping to reach the dark corners of her soul as he looked into her eyes as if they were open windows. "A lot better," he replied finally, sliding his hands out of hers, leaving a lingering, burning sensation where he had last touched her.

"And what were you able to read?"

Quietly he muttered, "I'm not quite sure..."

Sakura smiled, hoping to forget what he had just done. "And what does that prove?"

"You're not so easy to read as I thought..."

Oh contraire, Mr. I'm-So-Dense. From beside them, Eriol and Tomoyo could easily read the both of them and their expressions. It was so plainly obvious, what with the way Sakura's eyebrows lifted, half confused, half surprised, and how she was so tempted to smile. And the way Syaoran's facial expression was just completely blank - Eriol, being a guy, could easily interperet that.

It was their turn to play Cupid.

Once dinner had finished, all the students filed out of the mess hall loudly, chatting to their friends and so forth. Sakura and Syaoran had walked out together silently, not talking since he had done what he did. They were both very confused and at a loss for words, which would explain the no talking. Eriol and Tomoyo walked behind them, amused.

"Don't forget, students!" Terada-sensei called out to them. Each and every head turned and gave him their atention. "Tomorrow will be your first full day of activities. Schedules will be given to all of you first thing in the morning. We'll be going swimming too, so get your swimsuits ready, etc. Understood?"

Everyone being very tired, simply nodded or grumbled in reply. They all stalked off to their cabins, bidding goodnight to those who were not in their cabins and went to grab their toiletries to get ready for a much needed good night's rest. Sakura was joined by Tomoyo and Eriol joined by Syaoran, as they were going different paths.

"Goodnight, boys," Tomoyo said, waving at the both of them.

Eriol waved back and Syaoran nodded. "Goodnight, Daidouji-san."

Nudging her best friend lightly in the rib, Tomoyo whispered, "Sakura-chan. Say goodnight."

Smiling she said quietly, "Goodnight."

Without waiting for a reply, she turned around and began walking along the trail that would lead her to the girl's cabins. Tomoyo caught up to her but did not say anything, only smirked to herself, lost in her thoughts and future plans. This not only gave her a reason to play matchmaker, but to spend time with Eriol. They were partners in crime, now. She really liked the sound of that...

Not that they'd be commiting any crimes. Just conducting a few simple, harmless plans that would (hopefully) bring Syaoran and Sakura together.

**_xxxxxx_**

The trumpet played its annoying sound once more, awakening the girls in their cabins. Sakura lay awake in her bed, staring at the bunk above her. Lifting her leg like she did the other day, she kicked it just to assure that her best friend was awake. "I'm awake!" Tomoyo exclaimed a nano-second after Sakura's foot had made contact with its target.

They brushed, washed and dressed quickly. They were met at the front by their teacher chaperone who gave them a tiny brochure that when unfolded became a map of Camp Sunshine, just in case one was lost. She also gave them a slip of paper that indicated where they should be and at what time - their schedule.

"If you are in Cabin One," the chaperone explained, "then you are Group One. If you are in Cabin Two, you are Group Two, so on and so forth. You will be joined by the boys who are also the same group as you and go do your activities together. If you look at your schedules you will see that the very last thing we do for the day before dinner is swim in the lake. We will all be doing that together."

The girls nodded.

"Are there any questions?"

None came. And so, in just a matter of a few minutes they were joined by the boys for it was their turn to come to the girls. Tomoyo waved furiously at Eriol once she saw him appear on the trail. He smiled at her handsomely, walking up to her, Syaoran following behind. Seeing this, Sakura turned away, ready to speed off into a different direction. However, Tomoyo took hold of her elbow, dragging her along with her.

"Morning, Eriol-kun." She greeted.

"Goodmorning, girls," he replied, "what group are you guys?"

"Group Two," Tomoyo answered promptly.

"No kidding!" Eriol exclaimed. His shock for some reason to both Syaoran and Sakura did not seem sincere, "Li-kun and I are also in Group Two. I guess that means we'll be spending the day together. What fun!" Tomoyo nodded vigorously in agreement. Their two friends did nothing but shrug. Barely. More like jerk their left shoulder an inch from its original place.

They were then all joined by everyone else who was part of Group Two and a staff member of Camp Sunshine, who would be guiding them to all their activities aboard a welcome wagon. "What are we doing first?" Sakura asked Tomoyo in wonder as the wagon began moving along the trail. She glanced at the schedule she was given.

"Archery." Syaoran told her.

She barely even looked up from her paper. "Oh."

Tomoyo raised a kind of worried eyebrow to Eriol, who returned this look. "Sakura-chan, switch spots with me," Tomoyo told her so that their seating arrangement would be Sakura, Tomoyo, Eriol, Syaoran. Without waiting for a reply, she got up and plomped herself in between her best friend and Eriol. Bringing her head forward so that her hair swung with her, creating kind of a curtain, she whispered, "What is going on?"

"Nothing," Sakura whispered right back, "It's just...I'm feeling a little weird around Li-kun right now."

"Why!" She hissed, nearly screamed.

Sakura raised her eyebrows warningly. "Tomoyo-chan, not now!" She said through gritted teeth, "I will tell you later!"

As the girls continued arguing, Eriol placed his hand on his cheek, also leaning forward, creating his own kind of curtain. He looked at Syaoran who was staring straight ahead, seeming a little disturbed. "What's up?" Eriol asked, concerned. Syaoran shrugged his shoulders, practically ignoring his question.

"Nothing." He replied, just as Sakura had. "Is there something wrong with Kinomoto-san, though? I mean, is it because of what I did last night? I wasn't thinking. I mean, if it made her a little uncomfortable, I really didn't mean for it to be like that..." He hadn't meant for it to be anything. He didn't even realize what it was that he'd done until his senses came back to him.

"I'm sure she wasn't bothered by it," Eriol insisted.

"Then why is she acting like that towards me?" Syaoran asked.

"I'm sure she'll tell you."

"I hope she does. I mean, Kinomoto-san can tell me anything."

"You're right."

"Of course I'm right!"

Tomoyo turned around, whipping her hair back behind her shoulders, revealing Sakura's eyes who, were Tomoyo's hair still in its place, would've been staring at her raven strands. As it suddenly disappeared from view, Sakura was left with nothing to look at but Syaoran's eyes, which she did not feel comfortable looking into at the moment.

Quickly, she averted her gaze to the floor of the wagon. Syaoran noticed this and his face fell, a little hurt.

In turn, Eriol and Tomoyo shared exasperated looks with each other, which went unnoticed by their friends because of the fact that they were too busy staring at the floor.

This was going to be harder than they'd thought.

The wagon arrived shortly at the Archery Station where they all climbed off board. The wagon driver left them behind once they were met with the archery instructor. She was a pretty red head who seemed very young. Her eyes were like charcoal, smokey and mesmerizing. She didn't look more than twenty years old.

"Hello," she said politely. "Group Number Two, correct?"

"Yes," they answered.

"Wonderful. Follow me," she gestured for them to follow her through the field. In the distance they could see twelve target boards sitting in a row and across from them, quite a few feet away were four bows and a cylinder containing at least twenty arrows. Once they reached this particular area of the field they were all told to get into groups of four and pick one of the twelve stations.

"Group?" Tomoyo asked Eriol and Syaoran, smiling with Sakura at her side. Who, unlike herself, was unsmiling.

"Sure," he agreed, "Shall we use this one?" He suggested, pointing at the station nearest to all of them. They nodded with a shrug and waited for further instruction.

"My name is Miya," the red head told them, "I have been working at Camp Sunshine for about a year now as the archery instructor." She paused and took an arrow from the station nearest to her, "For safety reasons, the arrows are not sharply tipped. Instead, we have curved the end of it. If one releases properly with the right amount of force, the arrow will easily go through the target board."

Miya returned the arrow to the station she took it from. "Has anyone hear ever done archery before?"

Only one lone hand rose into the air. It was a reluctant hand that barely went past his shoulder.

"Li-kun?" Tomoyo asked quietly, "You've done archery before?"

Walking up to him Miya asked, "You have?" Syaoran nodded carelessly. "What is your name, boy?"

"Syaoran Li." He replied.

"Would you consider yourself very good at archery?"

He shrugged. "I guess."

Miya studied him closely, trying to catch his bluff. Since she had started working at Camp Sunshine, she had asked that question to every group that joined her for the very first time, just hoping to make conversation. Oddly enough, no one had ever answered "yes" to that question. Until now, with Syaoran of course.

"Would you like to show us a demonstration then, Li-san?" She suggested, hoping to irk him.

"Do I have to?" He answered reluctantly.

Miya smirked. Now she knew that he was lying. Because he did so, he got to embarrass himself in front of his class. "Yes." She replied, "You do."

Sighing like it was such a bother, Syaoran took a bow and an arrow ever so slowly. Shrugging his shoulders back a few times for exercise, he held the bow out in front of him with his right hand and attached the bow to the string of it. He held that position for a moment, hoping that he didn't have to.

"Go on," Miya insisted, "show us what you've got."

Giving one last, final sigh, he drew back the arrow and let it go, allowing it to fly straight before him, spinning as it did so. The class held its breath, wondering if the arrow would meet the target board or miss it completely. Syaoran, however, once having released the arrow immediately returned the bow and stood behind all of them, hoping to shield himself.

In just a matter of seconds the arrow sank easily into the fabric-like material of the target board. You'd think that the fact that it had at least hit the board was good enough. But no, that arrow did not sink itself into any old place of that board. It had made contact with the bullseye, directly in the middle.

The class burst out into applause. A large amount of fan girls shrieked from where they stood and sprinted to Syaoran hoping to congratulate him (hug him, kiss him, whatever works) - hence the shielding. Sakura had opened her mouth to tell him how amazing he was but of course, she was pushed aside in the stampede.

"Impressive," Miya told him, seperating the swarm of girls, "it seems to me that you don't even need to be here learning how to do this right now." She folded her arms in thought. "Perhaps you could help me, then? I shall teach the lesson, and you can help those who are in need of your help. Does that sound alright wth you?"

Shoving multiple fan girls off of him he agreed grumpily. Fan girls often got him feeling like that.

And so when the fan girls were calmed and Miya had finished teaching the lesson, Syaoran was able given the permission to stand on the sidelines and watch as his classmates attempted to perform the difficult art of archery. Most of them were not releasing properly and their arrows had not even left two feet from their original spot.

Others were not putting enough power into it and though their arrow flew the distance, they hit the target but bounced back, not able to sink into circular board because of lack of force.

He was enjoying laughing at his classmates from the sidelines until he was asked by the archery instructor to help the dozens of people that were not holding the bow properly.

Surprise, surprise. All of the people that were not able to hold the bow properly were fan girls. You see, if one was not holding the bow properly, Syaoran would have to teach them how. And of course, these crazed, insane, desperate girls would do just about anything to be in breathing distance of Syaoran.

"Show me again, please, Syaoran-kun?" A fan girl practically begged.

Sakura watched from afar as Syaoran huffed angrily and positioned himself behind the girl. He tried doing it as quick as possible just so he could get onto the next girl, but through Sakura's eyes, it seemed to go much too slowly for her liking. It disgusted her the way the stupid girls smiled as Syaoran's arms wrapped themselves around their own, holding their hands whilst positioning them. He was practically hugging them!

It was an odd, burning sensation that built up inside of her that she did not like. It was a very new kind of feeling that she could only name as one thing - jealousy. In her envy, she did not focus properly on her bow and arrow and released at an odd angle with a little too much power than actually needed.

A few people screamed as her arrow whizzed past them, missing them by inches and landing in the trunk of a tree with a loud _thwonk_.

"Ah!" She shrieked in her shock, "I - I'm sorry!" She apologized, bowing multiple amounts of times.

Seeing this, Syaoran smiled. "Miya-san, don't you think that Kinomoto-san needs my help the most right now?"

Her charcoal eyes wide and jaw nearly touching the floor, she nodded. "Absolutely. You stay with her the entire time if you need to, Li-san. Just make sure that she does not do it again."

Sakura blushed, embarrassed.

Smiling even wider, Syaoran left the herd of fan girls who screamed and yelled in protest, which he ignored as easily as he ignored, well, fan girls. He walked up to her, laughing with both his mouth and his eyes. "Very nice," he commented, earning himself a playful slap on the arm which did not hurt at all.

"Be quiet," Sakura ordered him, "that was a complete accident."

"I'm sure it was," he agreed, "let's just make sure it doesn't happen again, okay?"

"Fine. But how?"

Tomoyo stood with Eriol, their heads leaned in to each other's, watching their friends ever so closely. At least they weren't avoiding each other now.

"Well, firstly..." Syaoran instructed. He placed himself behind her and did what he had done with all the other girls, however, this time, he did it very gently. Unlike the other times, when he'd done it quite gruffly and rudely. "Try angling the bow and arrow like this." He held her closely from behind, positioning her arms for her.

"Okay..." she replied, very conscious about his body.

"Now..." removing his arm from her own, dragging his fingers lightly across her porcelaine skin, he held her elbow and pulled it backwards gently. "Your releasing arm is being held together a little sloppily." He tightened his grip on it, but not so that he hurt her. "Try tensing it a little. If it feels a little weird, that's alright. That's normal."

"It...does...feel weird," she commented. Though she was not talking about her arm.

"It's okay," he assured her.

"Is it?" She questioned, her voice whisper-soft.

Syaoran raised an eyebrow. Were they talking about the same thing? "Um. Yeah?"

"So...uh," she glanced backwards making contact with his eyes, "even if I strengthen this feel - I mean, my - er, arm - and it starts feeling really weird...it's...okay? Because...it's normal?"

His eyebrows furrowed together. That was basically what he said. "Uh...yeah..." he smirked a little, "don't chicken out. Just release it and hope to God that things don't go wrong," he laughed a little, remembering how badly her previous arrow flew.

Sakura waited. "You're right."

"Sure I am," he replied. Slowly, he let go of her but remained crouched so that he was at her height. He placed his hands on top of her shoulders and they immediately stiffened. "Good," he breathed into her ear, thinking that they had already been like that for the sake of releasing properly. "Now...let go."

Immediately, the arrow was sent soaring through the air, making a nice, clean, hit on the yellow part of the board, which was very near to the bullseye.

"Great job!" Syaoran congratulated, holding his hand up for a high five.

Sakura stared at him with wide eyes and happiness radiating from her smile. "I did it!" She shrieked. "Yay!"

Ignoring his high five, she threw herself onto him, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck. A little shocked, Syaoran did not do anything. Instead, he looked above her shoulder and let his eyes wander. First he saw the fuming fan girls with their arms crossed over their chest, stomping their feet angrily.

Then he saw Tomoyo and Eriol, smirking and giving him the thumbs up.

He was just about ready to give those two a piece of his mind.

But before he did that, he incircled his own arms around her tiny waist and lifted her from the ground, spinning a full 360 degrees. "It's strong!" Sakura exclaimed, once he had placed her back onto the ground.

Syaoran cocked his head to the side. "What?"

"And it feels really, _really_ weird!"

"Uh...Kinomoto-san, you know you're not holding the bow any - "

"But you're right! It's okay, because it's normal!"

He stared at her. "I really have no idea what - "

"I have to go speak to Tomoyo-chan! Excuse me!" Without another word, she left him standing there, completely confused, and streaked after her best friend whom she took eagerly by the hand and dragged to a far off place into the field where no one would be able to hear their conversation.

Syaoran stared after the two, still very, very confused.

"What the hell was that about?" He asked Eriol, who had joined him just recently.

Eriol laughed. "You know, you're as dense as she is."

**_xxxxxx_**

_That_, my friends, was Cheesy Event _numero uno_ that took place at Camp Sunshine to our unsuspecting characters, Syaoran Li and Sakura Kinomoto. But hey, let's not make my life difficult here. I'm not going to label each and every cheesy event that happens to them just for your sake! I have other things to witness.

And dont forget, ladies and gents, we made a deal. You guys be the judge. Tell it like it is.

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**Happy New Year! Read and review, thank you! Pls visit my profile on deleting info for 'Calendar Girl.'**

Signing Off,  
Agent08 - _My life as a secret agent _xD


	15. The Other Guy

Agent08 Reporting for Duty!

Now on with chapter fourteen!

**Saving Syaoran**

_The Other Guy_

"I think I'm falling for him!" Sakura shrieked, jumping up and down with Tomoyo's hands in her own. Tomoyo stared unbelievably at her best friend with a more than amused smile on her face. "I mean, he explained it all for me! Well, not really. But you know what he said, Tomoyo-chan? You know what Li-kun said?" She asked her that same question another five times in less than five seconds.

On the verge of bursting into laughter, Tomoyo answered, "What did he say, Sakura-chan?"

Bringing her hands up to cup her flushed cheeks, Sakura's emerald orbs took the shape of large, chubby pink hearts. "He told me..." she swooned dreamily, "he told me that this feeling is normal! And that I should just release it." She hesitated. "He also said that I should hope to God that nothing goes wrong. But!" She quickly added, "He's right, isn't he? Isn't he?"

No longer able to hold her laughter, her best friend answered in between giggles. "Sakura-chan, are you sure he was talking about you falling for him?"

"Well..." Sakura explained, "not exactly. He was...er, actually giving me a lesson on how to properly release the arrow and hold the bow." She paused to see Tomoyo's reaction, which she wished she never did. Instead of answering with words, her best friend only laughed harder, nearly doubling over. Sakura stomped her foot angrily, "I know that he actually meant the other thing!"

"Do you have any idea what you sound like right now?" Tomoyo asked.

Sakura's eyes went oval, her lips thinning into a straight line. She could only watch and stare far off into the field, where Syaoran and Eriol were still standing, until Tomoyo finally coughed to a halt with her laughter. Her eyes lowered to the grass of the field, one hand still cupping the side of her face.

"Sakura-chan, I didn't mean it!" Tomoyo said quickly, realizing how much effect her sarcastic question had on her best friend.

"But you're right..." Sakura agreed sadly, "I really _am_ just another one of his ditzy fan girls! Come on, Tomoyo-chan, tell me the truth! You saw how I acted. I was acting just like them. Maybe what I have for him really isn't real?" She asked worriedly, her eyes keeping that oval shape of theirs.

"Sakura-chan, trust me. This has to be real."

"How do you know?"

Tomoyo scrunched up her nose in contemplation, cupping her chin with her right hand. "Hm, let's consider these two things. For one thing, you've never spoken about a single boy like this in your entire life." The worried look vanishing, Sakura couldn't help but nod in agreement. "And for the second thing, I highly doubt that any other fan girl of Li-kun's doubts their love for him."

Her eyes narrowed. "I don't get it."

Tomoyo laughed. "Real love, Sakura-chan - _true_ love always comes with its doubts."

**_xxxxxx_**

It was the fourth day of the students' stay at the camp and they only had five days to spend there. Time went by too quickly, and there was a number of things that they had yet to do. One of them was participate in the traditional Camp Sunshine Scavenger Hunt, and the other was swim in the lake by the waterfall.

Everyday on their way to their different activities, the students would always pass by the shimmering lake and the calming waterfall. The sound of the falling water tempted the students even more so than it already did, pushing them closer to the edge. You really have no idea how close they were to ripping off their clothes and jumping in without consent.

So as you can pretty much tell, they were all pretty restless.

So when all the seniors were gathered in the mess hall eating lunch, they were surprised to see a member of the Sunshine Staff wearing a life jacket. "Get your suits on after your lunch, kids! We're going swimming!"

The room erupted into deafening screams as the students cheered with happiness. It was about damn time!

"Make sure to bring whatever you need. Sunscreen, towels, and everything else. We'll meet you all at the front!" The staff member said before leaving the mess hall.

"Finally!" Sakura shrieked with happiness, slapping hands with Tomoyo. "Let's get ready now, Tomoyo-chan!" Leaving her lunch that was not even finished on the table, Sakura took Tomoyo by the elbow and dragged her over to the exit, ready to sprint to their cabin and get changed into her swimsuit.

"Wait." Tomoyo insisted, shrugging out of Sakura's grasp. She began walking back to their table, and so, Sakura followed. "Eriol-kun?" She asked. He turned around, Syaoran and Yamazaki at his side. "Do you guys want to meet me, Sakura-chan, and Chiharu-chan on the trail joining our cabins? We'll walk to the front together."

Sakura thought of this as a little pointless, but she knew it was all just a ploy of Tomoyo's to spend more time with Eriol. She certainly didn't mind. That meant she could spend more time with Syaoran, which definitely didn't prove as a bad thing.

"Isn't Rika-san coming too?" Eriol asked, confused. Afterall, Rika had been part of their gang since the fourth grade!

"She told me earlier she'd be helping Terada-sensei with a few errands around campus. It'll be just us three girls. So, how about it?"

Eriol smiled. "Sure. Are you guys going to be going now?"

"Sure are."

"Okay. We'll be there in twenty minutes. See you on the trail?"

"Okay."

Each smiled and walked away without looking back. They were getting more and more comfortable with each other with each passing day. Sakura didn't think it would be long before Eriol asked her to the Spring Formal, or until one of them confessed their love for the other. However, asking her to the Formal was going to be tough - almost immediately after they come back from Camp, the Spring Formal would be taking place! He didn't have a lot of time left.

Sakura pushed that thought to the side and tried to focus on swimming in the lake with all her friends. It would be very fun, she knew it would be. So would be jumping off the waterfall! If only she wasn't scared of heights. And, technichally, she wasn't. But after her close-call on the cliff, she had more than a good enough reason to be scared.

In just a few moments all the four girls were dressed and ready to go. Grabbing their towels and wrapping them around their waists to make it look as if they were wearing long skirts, they slathered on their sunscreen and slapped on their sandals. With time to spare, they headed out onto the trail, ready to meet the guys.

Surprisingly, the boys were there before them. Maybe the girls weren't the only ones excited.

Each girl smiled and walked up to one boy. Tomoy to Eriol, Chiharu to Yamazaki, and of course, Sakura to Syaoran. They greeted each other warmly, taking their places beside the boys, walking in pairs one behind the other. It didn't take long for Tomoyo and Eriol to become immersed in their normal oblivious conversations, or for Chiharu and Yamazaki to start doing those lovey-dovey things that couples always do.

It didn't take long for Sakura or Syaoran to get clammy, either!

Sakura was horrified to realize that a rather large knot had formed in the very base of her throat, which she tried very hard to swallow. She didn't know it, but Syaoran had the exact same problem - except his was worse to overcome. So, forcing the knot down her throat, only allowing it to slip down into her stomach where it somehow grew even bigger, she began their first bit of conversation.

"Excited?" She managed to choke out.

"Yeah. I haven't swam in a lake in years."

"Neither have I." She agreed.

Silence...

"So...um, do you remember our date to the Formal?" Syaoran asked awkwardly.

Sakura tried her best to giggle. "How could I forget?"

"Do you...um, have your dress?" He asked, not really interested as to what she wore. He knew that whatever she did end up wearing wouldn't really make a difference - she'd look beautiful either way.

Sakura smiled brightly, momentarily forgetting about her queasy stomach. "Yeah!" She exclaimed, jumping forwards. She stood in front of Syaoran and began walking backwards as he walked forwards. "It's so pretty! I've seen it already but Tomoyo-chan doesn't want me wearing it until the night of. I'm sure it fits me, though. She knows my dress size like - oops! I'm sorry!"

Not having eyes at the back of her head, Sakura didn't realize that a guy not much older than she was running quickly past them, apparently too much in a hurry to even realize where he himself was going. He ran into her back, causing her to turn around, surprised, and apologize. She and the other guy bowed multiple times before they stood straight and actually spoke.

"I'm very sorry," Sakura apologized sincerely, her cheeks ablaze.

Shaking his head, the guy replied, "It's alright, it was my..." just as he was about to finish his sentence, his head stopped shaking, and he took a good glimps into Sakura's eyes. His jaw dropped strangely, unabling him from talking any further. His eyes roamed her entire body, resting on a certain upper area which made Syaoran growl in both anger and disgust.

Sakura angled her head to the side and asked Syaoran what was wrong.

Syaoran didn't answer for a moment, still glaring at the other guy. He didn't even notice, for he was too busy staring at Sakura's - well - you know. He couldn't believe it! How rude could he possibly get? Sure, Syaoran had hormones - same as that guy. But he would never stare at a girl like that.

But he had to admit that Sakura looked absolutely amazing in her pink bathing suit.

Instead of answering he asked, "What are you doing?"

Snapping out of his reverie he turned to Syaoran. "Oh. Uh. Nothing." He shifted uncomfortably under Syaoran's red hot glare. He wouldn't let up. "Um...excuse me."

He began running at a fast pace again, giving one last glance at Sakura's chest, tempting Syaoran to run after him and beat him into a pulp - which he nearly did. He placed one foot before him, ready to set off at a run after him and to confront him, whoever he was, and teach him a lesson about staring. Especially staring at certain female body parts! He was stopped by the sound of Sakura's and the others.

"What are you doing?" Sakura asked, placing a gentle and calming hand on his shoulder. Obviously she didn't realize how he had been drooling over her female assets.

"What's up?" Tomoyo asked, coming forwards with Eriol, Chiharu and Yamazaki in tow.

Before answering he turned his head into the direction of where he had last seen that rude guy. He was no where to be seen. Good. He was almost positive that they wouldn't be bothered by him anymore.

"Nothing. Let's get going."

With that said, they walked along what was left of the trail and met with the other seniors at the front. They boarded the welcome wagons which took them to the lake. Once they arrived, all the teenagers were just about ready to dive in. And if it hadn't been for Terada-sensei and the other staff member, all of them would've been immersed into the cooling water from the neck down.

"Before we allow you students to climb off," Terada-sensei explained, "we warn you again to pay attention to your surroundings and be very careful. This lake isn't exactly deep, but we'd like all of you to be safe." He shared a brief glance with Sakura, who blushed in embarrassment. She felt Rika fidget beside her.

The staff member took the stage. "To ensure this, our life guard will be joining us today. He usually doesn't, but we thought that considering some earlier events, it'd be best to be cautious and keep his presence near. And, I'd introduce him if I could, but our life guard seems to be no where in sight..."

"Sorry I'm late!" They heard. Every head turned. To Syaoran's complete and utter disgust and surprise, the very same guy who had been staring at Sakura came bounding out from the woods, life jacket in one hand and a water bottle in the other. He took his place beside Terada-sensei and the staff member and bowed.

"This would be the life guard I was talking about," the staff member said cheerfully, "why so late, Tai-kun?" She asked jokingly.

"Sorry," he apologized sheeply, "I forgot my life jacket. And I wanted to get a quick drink from the mess hall before I came. We both know how scorching it can be."

Accepting his excuse, she allowed the students to clamber off the wagon. Some seniors ripped off their towels, threw their things aside, took off in a bee line towards the pier, and performed an award winning cannon ball right into the lake, disturbing the calm ripples and practically causing a tsunami.

Sakura, Tomoyo, Chiharu, Eriol, Syaoran and Yamazaki took their time, setting their things neatly on to the ground where they knew would be a safe place, and calmly walked onto the pier. They were joined by Tai, whom they all recognized as the guy who they had run into. "Hi there," he greeted, mostly to Sakura than anyone else. Syaoran stopped himself from growling.

"Hi." Sakura replied sweetly. "So you're our life guard, huh?"

He smiled. "That's right." Tossing his life jacket to the side, he lowered his arms to the front of his T-shirt and slowly and dramatically peeled it off of him, only to reveal a creamy white unbelievable six pack, much like Syaoran's. But Syaoran's was tanned. And nicer. And just plain hotter.

Some girls in the lake stopped their current movement to gape like goldfish at his incredible physique. Chiharu even gasped a little. Tomoyo's eyebrows raised. Both Yamazaki and Eriol noticed this and just like Syaoran, forced down a growl.

Sakura, however, seemed unphased. She continued smiling like normal, not even glancing at his chest - unlike how he had done with her.

"Well we'll see you around." She said simply, turning around, not even bothering to wave.

Not willing to give up he caught up with her, shoving all her other friends out of the way just to do so. "My name's Tai. What's yours?" He asked.

She smiled at him. "Kinomoto Sakura. Please feel free to call me Kinomoto-san." She turned around again, continuing to make her way further onto the pier.

This time, Syaoran found it hard not to laugh. She didn't even realize it, but she was torturing that Tai guy!

"Are you in a hurry?" He asked her, flipping his wavy brown hair back and plastering on what was supposed to be a handsome smile. Some girls who continued to stare at him goggled at the spectacular view. With their real loved ones in mind, Chiharu and Tomoyo didn't even notice this time. And just like before, Sakura remained uneffected by what he'd done.

"Actually, yeah." She said conversationally, which shattered the guy's hopes. "My friends and I have been waiting since forever to swim in this lake. Maybe we could talk later." With one last sugar sweet smile, she turned around for the final time and stood at the end of the pier, almost ready to jump.

"Sakura-chan!" Tomoyo hissed, "Did you see that?" She asked, loud enough for the rest the others to hear. She was obviously referring as to how that Tai guy was so evidently hitting on her.

"See what?" Sakura answered in reply, flicking her head in all four directions as if she'd missed something important.

Chiharu's own jaw dropped. "Sakura-chan. What is wrong with you? Didn't you notice at _all?_"

All five of her friends stared at her, waiting for an answer. She stared right back, her head angled to the right with her eyebrows furrowed together. "I'm confused. Notice what?" She asked.

All of them burst out laughing, except for Syaoran, who could only smle in relief. She really and truly wasn't effected by what he'd done! He felt like jumping for joy!

Of course, that was easily done. One right after the other they dived into the lake, finally joining the other seniors into what soon became an all out water fight. Boys dunked each other into the water as girls did the same. Others slapped the surface with their hands, causing the water to fly up into another's face.

"Sakura!" Someone called. She looked up and saw her friends standing on the pier, ready to go somewhere else. Swimming over to them she was helped up onto the pier by Yamazaki. All six of them followed Terada-sensei's lead as he took them to where Eriol had asked him to. In their bare feet they climbed a slightly large hill. Once a flowing river became visible they knew exactly where they were going.

"The waterfall?" Sakura asked nervously. "We're going to the waterfall?"

"Yep," Yamazaki smiled, "I'm going to make the biggest canon ball off that waterfall known to makind!"

Her friends began chattering noisily about the excitement of jumping off the waterfall, and in no time at all, they arrived. At that moment Sakura felt herself shrink into the size of a pea. Her surroundings only grew bigger, thus increasing her fear of jumping. She couldn't bare to look as Yamazaki and Eriol took a running start on the top of the waterfall and jumped in.

"Are you coming, Sakura-chan?" Chiharu asked her, preparing to jump with Tomoyo.

"I want to go last." She lied.

"Suit yourself," Tomoyo shrugged, turning back to the waterfall, letting out a high pitched scream and diving head first into the water. Chiharu laughed and followed right after her, performing the perfect pencil dive.

Syaoran stepped up to the plate, shrugging his shoulders back as if going to perform an Olympic winning dive. Sakura smiled at him and urged him to jump. Once he'd dived, she would run back down the hill and jump back into the lake, making up a lame excuse as to how she'd jumped and swam faster than them back to the pier.

Looking back at her one final time, Syaoran felt that there was something wrong with the way she smiled. Furrowing his eyebrows together deeply, he relaxed his diving position and walked up to her. He realized then that she was shivering.

"Are you cold?" He asked her.

"No," she replied, shaking her head.

"Why are you shaking?" His voice had a hint of concern in it.

Sakura hesitated before replying, biting down hard on the inside of her cheeks. Her eyes flew from the edge of the waterfall, where Syaoran had just been, to the calming set of amber eyes that stared intently at her, patiently waiting for an answer. "...I'm scared." She answered finally, her cheeks growing hot.

"You're scared?" He repeated, almost incredulously.

"Don't make fun of me!" She pleaded.

He laughed melodically and took her by the elbow, bringing her to the very edge. "No, Li-kun!" She protested, "Don't make me!"

"Don't be scared," he told her, "it's a big jump, but nothing bad will happen."

He could see the doubt in her eyes.

"Kinomoto-san, I promise. This lake won't hurt you." He added jokingly. That didn't seem to ease her fears. Sighing he said, "Is this because of the cliff?" She nodded. "Come on, that's nothing like this. I understand why you'd be so scared, but I won't let anything bad happen!" He assured her.

"How?" She asked hoarsely.

Syaoran couldn't seem to come up with a good enough answer. "Uh..."

"Will you jump with me?" She asked him hopefully.

"What?" He replied.

"Jump with me." She insisted, her fears suddenly subsiding. Just the mere thought of Syaoran being at her side while overcoming a fear made her grow confident in herself. "Please?"

"Um..." he said, "sure, I guess. If you're okay with that."

"Uh, Li-kun, I can't do any fancy dives, just so you know."

He laughed. "Don't worry, we won't have to do any of those."

Both of them taking a step closer to the very edge, they breathed in deeply, preparing themselves to jump.

"Don't be scared," he told her again, taking a glance into her emerald eyes.

Instead of replying, Sakura bit the bottom of her lip. Both slowly and hesitantly, she outstretched her opened palm and took Syaoran's index finger in her own, linking them. Immediately, Syaoran froze. Not noticing and taking his silence as consent, Sakura then intertwined the rest of her fingers within his, grasping his hand tightly.

"I'm not scared," she told him.

He tightened his hold on her. "Good." He smiled. "On the count of three. One."

"Two..." she breathed.

"Three!"

Once he had finished the countdown, they took their last step off of the waterfall and jumped. Sakura closed her eyes, allowing the odd falling sensation devour her stomach. It was a very strange feeling, one she'd never really felt before. But with Syaoran's hand in hers, she hardly even noticed.

They landed with a giant splash in the water. The instant they'd hit the surface, their hands had retracted to allow themselves to float. Sakura's head was up first, coughing and spluttering. Syaoran threw his own head backwards, shaking his head in all directions. He smiled gleefully at her, as she did so back.

"What took you two so long!" Chiharu called from far away, closer to the pier.

"Sorry!" Sakura apologized, waving an arm. "Let's go," she said, swimming towards her and Syaoran following behind.

"How was it?" Tomoyo asked, somehow knowing that they'd jumped off together. As far as Syaoran or Sakura knew, no one had been watching them.

"It was great!" Sakura answered, thinking Tomoyo meant the jump.

She smirked. "I knew it would be." With no one looking, she winked knowingly at Syaoran.

His eyebrows raised. Maybe she really was psychic.

"Hmm...I feel like floating," Sakura thought aloud, getting on her back and closing her eyes. Syaoran watched her become motionless in the water, her arms and legs no longer moving. She seemed to be in a calmer state of mind with no movement, no smile upon her face. Slowly, she began to sink into the water.

The others seemed to be watching too, and apparently, this was something she regularily did when swimming, because no one seemed to be worried.

Except for one other person.

"Watch out!" Someone screamed, diving into the water, disturbing the peace.

The person who had screamed just so happened to be Tai, the other guy that Syaoran really and truly did not like. He sliced through the water gracefully, right to where Sakura was now floundering, confused as to why she had been so rudely disturbed when she was clearly relaxing in the water.

He took her by the wrist and began to drag her to the pier. Angrily, she tried ripping her hand away, only to be held tighter by whoever claimed her wrist. She had swallowed lots of water thanks to whoever had jumped in, and he or she was only making matters worse, for she was still underwater, trying to swim away.

Tai held her from behind, taking her onto the pier. He threw her down on the ground, forcing her to close her eyes for quite sometime to cope with the pain that pulsed through her back.

Tomoyo, Chiharu, Eriol, Yamazaki, Syaoran, Terada-sensei and many other students gathered around in a circle to watch the commotion.

"Dear Lord, has she gotten herself into another accident?"

"She needs CPR!" Tai screamed.

Syaoran's eyes widened in disgust as he went on his knees, puckered his lips, and placed his hand on Sakura's heart. Closer and closer his lips got to touching Sakura's own. With his eyes closed and fully prepared to suck face, he didn't realize that Sakura was in fact perfectly fine, staring frozen and wide-eyed at the guy about to kiss her.

Like hell! Syaoran wouldn't allow that to happen. "What the hell are you doing?" Syaoran asked, taking Tai by the shoulders and pulling him backwards forcefully. He landed painfully on his butt.

"What are _you_ doing? She needs CPR!"

From where she was lying Sakura sat up and coughed up the water she'd swallowed.

"She's fine!" He nearly growled, "She never needed CPR. She was doing that for fun!"

Everyone remained silent for only God knows how long, staring from Sakura, to Syaoran, to Tai.

"You mean...she wasn't drowning?" He asked.

"Sakura-chan always does that," Tomoyo explained, "the only reason she coughed up all that water was because you held her down there for too long." It was almost as if she'd said it accusingly, angrily.

Sighing with relief, everyone dispersed, except for Sakura's five friends, Terada-sensei and Tai.

"You're fine then, Kinomoto-san?" Her teacher asked, concerned.

"I was always fine, Terada-sensei." Sakura assured him. Pleased with her answer he walked away, allowing Tai to apologize.

"I'm really sorry," he said, bowing. "I thought you were in trouble."

"It's okay." Sakura told him, patting his back. Tomoyo and Syaoran glared. "You meant well."

"Let me make it up to you," he insisted, a sly smile appearing on his face. He waited for her to swoon. To his displeasure, she remained neutral, not at all noticing his handsome grin.

"It's alright. You really don't have to."

"I insist!" He practically begged, taking her hand. Syaoran forced down a growl.

"Really, it's - "

"I won't take 'no' for an answer," he replied in a sing-song voice.

Kind of annoyed and just wanting to get back to swimming, she took her hand from his and kept it firmly at her side. "It's okay. Thank you for offering, though."

She turned and began to walk away. "Wait!" He hollered.

She turned on her heel and said, "Yes?"

Jogging into the woods briefly, he re-immerged with a wild flower in his hands. He gave it to her, took her hand, and kissed it.

Cheeks flaming and Syaoran fuming like a volcano at her side, Sakura replied, "Oh my. Um, thank you? I guess." Her thanks seemed to come out as a question.

He replied saying it wasn't a problem, and walked away, back to his life guard post. While Chiharu giggled herself to death, Eriol and Yamazaki went back to swimming. Tomoyo took an uneasy glimpse at Tai and Sakura, then joined the boys. Sakura soon caught up with them and no longer went in that calm state of mind of hers.

Syaoran, with a quiet moment to himself, contemplated a few things. One of them being the intentions of Tai and if he would ever stop pursuing Sakura, the other being how great his day had been going until that guy ruined it. He then came to the very angry conclusion that he did not want him near Sakura at all - and if he needed to tell her so, he wouldn't hesitate to do it.

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**Hoorah! An update! Thank you for reading, pls review. And for all 'Calendar Girl' fans, I suggest that you visit my profile for the deleting info. Yes, I am deleting that fiction. I think. xD. My profile will explain it all. Thank you again!**

Signing Off,  
Agent08 - _My life as a secret agent _xD


	16. The Scavenger Hunt

**Agent08 Reporting for Duty!**

Now on with chapter fourteen!

**Saving Syaoran**

_The Scavenger Hunt_

"I don't like him," Syaoran muttered to Tomoyo beneath his breath. The seniors were eating one of their last dinners at the mess hall. Sakura sat across from him chattering obliviously with Chiharu. He purposefully sat with Tomoyo to talk to her in private about the guy who had such obvious, shallow feelings for Sakura.

"Neither do I," she agreed, her voice whisper-soft, "he's trying too hard."

"No shit," Syaoran replied, unable to calm himself. Tomoyo gave him a scolding look for his choice of words.

"No need to swear." She said motherly, "It's very clear what is intentions are."

"I'll be damned if his lips ever get that close to hers ever again." Tomoyo, surprised by his comment, turned to him with eyebrows high on her forehead, an amused, accusing smile on her face. "Not that I'm saying that I - you know - like her. I'm just saying. She's one of my friends. I'd do the same thing for you."

Tomoyo giggled. "I know you would."

"But if only you'd seen the way he stared at her chest!" He fumed angrily, stopping himself from raising his fist and pounding the table, "It was completely rude. Luckily Sakura didn't notice. If he keeps pursuing her, then God help him." He gave Tomoyo one of his more serious looks, "Daidouji-san, you're going to have to stop me from knocking his lights out."

Her jaw nearly dropped at his threat directed towards Tai. "Li-kun, you're not serious!" He made no movement to contradict anything he'd said. "You will really hurt him, won't you?"

He nodded darkly. Suddenly no longer having an apetite, he pushed his plate away from him and stole another few glances in Sakura's direction. She was too delicate, too sweet to be pursued or stared at like that. There was also the fact that he was madly in love with her and had an odd temper with rude people.

"You've got to be kidding me..." he breathed suddenly, glaring at the entrance of the mess hall.

Tomoyo followed his gaze and her eyes went oval. In through the entrance strolled in Tai, wearing a long sleeved button down shirt and jeans. His hair appeared to be gelled and the cologne he was wearing could be smelt from a mile away. Syaoran wondered where that disgusting stench had come from.

More than half the seniors girls in the room stopped their movement to stare wide-eyed at Tai. He smiled at each one flirtatiously, nodding his head to the glaring boys. He came to where Sakura was sitting and nodded to Syaoran. His glare could only intensify as he tapped Sakura's shoulder to get her attention. She didn't seem to notice he'd entered the room.

"Oh, hi!" She said cheerfully.

"Hey there," he said slyly, "remember me?"

Sakura laughed. "How could I forget?"

"Mind if I eat with you and your friends?" He asked.

"Not at all!" She chirped, making room for him on the bench.

Syaoran wanted to groan. Why oh WHY did she have to be so damn friendly!

"Tai-kun!" A Sunshine staff member called from the kitchens. He smiled at her warmly and waved. "What are you doing here?" She asked him, curious. "You never eat in the mess hall. You always eat your meals in the staff room."

He shrugged. "I felt like I needed a change." Turning back to Sakura, he flashed her what was supposed to be yet another mesmerizing smile. Once again, most girls in the room sighed dreamily. Sakura just returned the smile and continued eating her food as if she hadn't heard the other girls' reactions. She probably didn't.

Tomoyo tried her best to make her glare unnoticeable, but Syaoran really didn't care. He tried to make his dislike for Tai as visible as possible, so maybe the guy could get a clue and stay away from Sakura. But apparently he just wasn't glaring hard enough, because Tai certainly did not get any sort of clue whatsoever.

"Sorry again about earlier," he apologized, referring to the time he'd nearly drowned her.

"It's fine," she said, dismissing his apology with the wave of her hand.

As she lowered her hand to her side once more, he held it up to his face to examine it. Sakura's eyes grew confused as Syaoran's only narrowed. Somehow he knew that what he was doing was all just some stupid excuse to hold her hand. "Nice nails." He told her lamely, slowly removing his hand from hers.

Nice nails Syaoran's sexy ass! Sakura's nails were painted pink at the time, but chipped like hell. They looked anything but nice.

Sakura laughed uneasily. "You think so?" She smiled suddenly, leaning across the table, "What do you think, Li-kun?"

Having the attention directed towards him, Syaoran had no other choice but to relax his glare. Glancing brieftly at her nails he said, "Yeah. They're real nice."

Sakura grinned happily and stared at them for herself. With her attention elsewhere, Tai took this opprotunity to glance at Syaoran, who was picking at the remains of the food on his plate. His own eyes narrowed, wondering what kind of relationship the two shared. Whether it was friendly or romantic, he didn't like it. He didn't like any kind of competition.

"You're participating in the Scavenger Hunt tomorrow, right?" He asked conversationally once done examining Syaoran.

"Sure are." Sakura replied excitedly. "I love scavenger hunts!"

His grin reached from ear to ear. "That's great. I'll be there then, too." He said, practically inviting himself. "You know when we do the Scavenger Hunt around here, we do it in partners?" He added, though his simple statement sounded like, "Will you please, please, PLEASE be my partner tomorrow?" to Tomoyo and Syaoran.

"Really?" Sakura asked. "Great!"

"Do you have a partner in mind?" He asked hopefully.

Pausing for a moment, Sakura cupped her chin with her right hand, rubbing it gently. She contemplated on who she thought should be her partner, though normally, she'd pick Tomoyo. But this year was different as her best friend partnered with her crush in nearly everything with her consent. Not that she needed it. So she asked, "Tomoyo-chan, are you being partners with Eriol-kun?"

Tomoyo blushed. "He asked me today." She smiled apologetically. "Sorry, Sakura-chan."

Sakura smiled forgivingly. "Not a problem. I know who should be my partner."

Tai's grin enlarged by about a million times, knowing that Sakura would no doubt ask him to be her partner. She smiled, opening her mouth, prepared to ask him. Syaoran's expression became blank, not believing what was about to happen. Surely Sakura wouldn't ask HIM! He thought she was immune to all his handsome tricks!

At last minute, she turned to face the person sitting across from her. "Li-kun, you'll be my partner, won't you?"

Tai's face fell apart, taking her simple request to Syaoran as rejection - which it kind of was.

"Of course," he replied, the colour returning to his face as it was drained when he thought she was going to ask Tai.

"Awesome," she said, continuing to eat.

For the remainder of dinner, Tai sat with the gang, not speaking or anything. Believing that then, of all times, when Sakura practically chose him over Tai, Syaoran thought that he finally got his long overdue clue. But later that night, when he was walking back to his cabin after preparing for bed, he was stopped by Tai who apparently had something very important to say.

"Hey you," he called to him, jogging to catch up.

Syaoran stopped, toothbrush in hand, wondering what it was that he had to say. "Hi." He replied monotonously.

"The name's Tai Kihara. Yours?" He asked.

"Li Syaoran."

After answering, he stopped for a moment, letting the silence between them hang in the evening air. "So," Tai began finally, shoving his hands deep within his pockets, his eyes becoming narrow slits, "You and Sakura..."

Syaoran felt the need to smirk and frown at the same time. This guy really didn't beat around the bush, did he?

"She prefers to be called Kinomoto-san." He corrected him.

"Whatever," he replied, taking what was supposed to be a threatening step forwards. At that moment Syaoran really felt like laughing. Was he supposed to be scared or something? He obviously didn't know him very well if he thought that was supposed to intimidate him. "I see that you two are close."

"What's it to you?" Syaoran asked.

"Let's just say that you being close to her complicates things for me," he said cryptically.

Syaoran let out a frustrated sigh. Well, if he wasn't going to beat around the bush, why should he? "Listen, you're not going to get anywhere with her. She's not interested." He explained.

"How would you know? Did she say anything?"

"No, but - "

"Then maybe you should keep your nose out of my business!" He snapped, "I don't need you telling me that she's not interested in me. Of course she is. I know she is. What girl isn't?"

This time, Syaoran couldn't help it. He burst into laughter, bending over and patting his stomach to try and stop himself. "Don't flatter yourself, Kihara." This time, Syaoran took his own step forward. They both kept on walking until they were nearly nose to nose, glaring deeply at each other with utmost dislike.

"You better not ruin my chances, Li." Tai hissed through gritted teeth.

"It's not like I have any to ruin in the first place." Syaoran replied, teeth bared like a hound.

With one last glare at one another, they walked away, not once looking back. When his footsteps faded into the distance, Syaoran kicked the tree nearest to him, fighting the urge to pound the bark into dust. If tomorrow Tai's feelings did not change, Syaoran would stay true to his words. He only hoped Sakura would find it in her to forgive him.

**_xxxxxx_**

"Everybody gather around!" Terada-sensei called to the class, gesturing for everyone to come over. Once every senior student was present, he began handing out the list of items that they needed to obtain to win the scavenger hunt. Once every student got one of their own, he began to read aloud. Once he'd finished, he looked up to the crowd. "Alright?"

"Alright." They all answered in unison.

"The first couple to arrive back at the front with all items present before night fall wins these two bags of treats!" He held up for the students to see two very large see-through bags that contained mouth-watering treats.The list was pretty long, and it they knew it would be difficult to find a lot of the items listed on the piece of paper. Winning those treats would be a challenge.

"Alright everybody...seperate!"

The moment Terada-sensei blew his whistle all the couples raced off, fully prepared to find the first item on the list: a four leaf clover.

Sakura ran off into the forest, Syaoran in tow, her hair flying wildly about her face. Syaoran liked to see her so happy. It was a very pretty sight to see. He watched as she looked under every rock and log for that blasted four leaf clover. There were a dozen three leafed clovers lying everywhere, but none with an extra leaf.

"Darnit!" Sakura hissed angrily after she heard the scream of joy by yet another couple that found the four leaf clover before them. "Any luck?" She asked Syaoran, who was also looking around for the same item. He shook his head no. "Ugh! This is hopeless!" He'd never seen her so distressed before.

"Looking for this?" A voice asked.

Both Syaoran and Sakura spun around, only to find Tai standing just a few feet away, a single four leaf clover held in between his index finger and his thumb. Syaoran's features turned to stone as Sakura shrieked with delight and ran up to him, giving him a friendly hug. Tai certainly didn't seem to think it was so. He took the opportunity to sniff her hair greedily. She didn't seem to notice.

"Thank you, Kihara-kun!" She thanked gratefully. "That's one item off of our list."

"It was my pleasure, Sakura." He told her.

Immediately, Sakura's smile softened almost apologetically. "Kinomoto-san, Kihara-kun." She corrected.

His smile didn't vanish. To Syaoran he seemed to be more confident today.

"Let's go," Syaoran said, not bothering to thank him, "we still have a lot more things to find." He took Sakura by the elbow and tugged hard, hoping that her attention would be directed back to the scavenger hunt and not Tai.

"Wait," Tai said, catching up, "do you think I can stick with you two? I don't have to be part of your team. I just want to help out."

Sakura beamed at him. "Sure, we could use your help." She then remembered that she was not the only person on the team. "Unless you have a problem with that, Li-kun." She said, wanting to take his opinion into consideration. She stared at him patiently for an answer as he glared once again at Tai, who was smirking maliciously behind her back.

"No. No problem." He told her.

"Okay then!" She chirped happily, "Let's get going! Now, we need to find...hm...a heart shaped rock, it says."

"Oh boy," Tai said, clicking his tongue, "those things are hard to find. Maybe we should split up?" He took Sakura by the hand, making Syaoran glow an envious colour of green. "Li-san, you can search over there while Kinomoto-san and I look over here. How about it?" He gave Sakura a gentle grin, then to Syaoran gave him a smirk.

"Good idea, Kihara-kun." Sakura said. "We won't be far, Li-kun. Call us over when you find something, alright?"

"Fine." He agreed reluctantly, setting off in a different direction. Purposefully he turned his back on the two of them the entire time so as not to see them laughing together and fooling around together. It was bad enough that he had to hear it going on. He tried moving further away to lessen the noise.

"Li-kun!" Sakura called out, waving her arm. Syaoran turned around, surprised at how far he'd actually wandered off just to avoid hearing Sakura enjoying herself with another guy. "We found one! Come back!" Obeying her, he began to make his way over to the two. Sakura was jumping up and down.

"Next item?" Syaoran asked, though he was not heard. Apparently Sakura and Tai were still celebrating. He held up his hand for a high five and Sakura slapped it heartily. Before she could remove it, he held it tightly in his own hand, keeping it there for longer than Syaoran or Sakura liked. Neither of them knew that it disturbed the other so much.

When he'd finally let go of her hand, Syaoran's shoulders relaxed, though they remained just slightly tense. "Next item." He said again.

"A chestnut," Sakura replied. "Let's keep looking, then!" She took the lead, walking further into the forest to find the item. Syaoran and Tai followed behind her, glaring at each other the entire time. Sakura spoke animatedly in front of them, oblivious to the obvious tension that the two boys shared with each other.

"Looks like you're not her favourite after all," Tai insulted when Sakura was out of hearing distance.

Syaoran snorted. "There is no way in hell that you'd EVER be her favourite."

"Is that so?" Tai asked.

"I know so," Syaoran replied firmly, Tai freezing under his heart-freezing glare, "and if you even try to pull anything, God help you." He warned icily.

They stopped walking, allowing Sakura to walk ahead of them. They stared at each other angrily, steam practically shooting out from both of their ears. Tai tried his hardest not to look scared, though he was failing miserably. Syaoran could see that his words had a large impact on Tai's confidence. He hoped they would.

But then, as if some bright retort finally came to mind, Tai smirked once again, annoying Syaoran to no end. "If I pull anything," he began, "it'll most likely be her clothes." He stuck his tongue out disgustingly, as if licking something that Syaoran did not want to imagine. Him? Taking Sakura's clothes off? This time he took things too far.

"Bastard!" Syaoran screamed, no longer caring about Sakura's reaction to his doings and roughly pushed Tai to the ground.

"What is going on?" Sakura asked sharply from far away. Apparently she hadn't noticed she'd gone so far ahead.

Tai got up, heaving like a bull. Growling, he got back up on his feet and sprinted forward, hoping to drive Syaoran backwards into the tree that was behind him. His attempt proved futile. Syaoran dodged it easily, smirking when he saw Tai's shoulders make painful contact with the tree that he thought Syaoran would've been pinned against.

He tried again, this time with arms outstretched, hoping to take Syaoran by the waist and forcing him onto his back. Springing again at full speed, he went directly for Syaoran. Smirking, just as he was about to make his move, Syaoran stuck his foot out directly in front of him, making a direct blow in Tai's stomach.

He fell to the ground, the wind completely knocked out of him.

Climbing on top of him, Syaoran raised his fist, ready to break his nose for good. Until he heard Sakura's frantic voice from just a few feet away. "No! Li-kun, _don't!_"

He stopped, fist in mid-air. He glanced from his fist, to Sakura, to Tai, who was quivering beneath him. Sighing, disappointed that he wouldn't have the chance to beat him into a bloody pulp, he got up, glaring at the ground, hoping that he wouldn't have to look Sakura in the eyes. He knew she wouldn't be very pleased with him.

"What is wrong with you two!" Sakura scolded angrily, "You both are so immature!"

"I didn't do anything," Tai said innocently, getting up, "it was Li! He told me to stay away from you!"

Slowly her head turned. Her expression was a mixture of hurt, anger, and disappointment. "You did, Li-kun?"

"I..." Syaoran began, not knowing what to say. He really _had_ told Tai to stay away from her, but it wasn't like how she thought it was, "Kinomoto-san, I can explain! Kihara - he's lying! I didn't...I never meant it like that! He was trying..." Sakura's eyes grew sadder by the second, "please believe me! I was only trying to look out for you!"

With her back turned, Tai took the opportunity to make that same provocative licking motion. It was disgusting!

"Son of a bitch!" Syaoran seethed, side stepping Sakura. Before either of the other two could react, he had taken Tai by the waist and was forcing him further and further backwards, pinning him to a tree. Just like what Tai had planned on doing to him, but Syaoran was successful with his while he was not.

"_Don't!_" Sakura screamed again, running to catch up.

His attention currently elsewhere, Tai took that one moment to push Syaoran off of him and took a swipe. He missed lamely, angering Syaoran even more. Just as he was about to take a swipe of his own, Sakura came in between the two, one arm on either side of her outstretched, her palms opened and touching the chest of each boy.

"_I said stop it!_" She yelled. "What is going on!"

"Kinomoto-san...get him out of here. Please. Before I do something you won't be proud of." Syaoran nearly pleaded.

Snorting, she said, "It's a little too late for that, Li." Her word stung. She had called him by his last name and his last name only for the first time ever.

"Please," he said again, ignoring the hurt that was gnawing at his heart, "just get him out of here."

Sighing she took Tai by the arm and said quietly, "I think you should go..."

His jaw dropped. "What! Why should I go? He started it!"

"Please," she requested calmly, "just go. I don't want you two fighting like this."

Giving one last hard glare at Syaoran, he huffed angrily, and made his way out of the forest. His foodsteps faded as they got further and further away, and for a moment, there was nothing but silence. It was a short moment, only a slight pause. But anger and disappointment salted the air, stretching the silence until it hurt.

"I'm sorry." Syaoran finally said, taking one step closer to Sakura.

She took one step back, almost horrified. "I can't believe you," she said hoarsely, "I mean...why? Why did you do it, Li?"

He bit back his tongue. Li? Li. His last name. It hurt to hear it coming from her.

"I did it because I didn't like him!" He snapped, now angry. Who was she to blame him for something that he did for _her?_ He did it to protect her! To keep her from getting bothered and pursued by a guy like Tai, who obviously had nothing but bad intentions! She had no right to make him feel guilty!

And it wasn't like he wasn't under enough stress because of her already! He had a mission that he felt obliged to accomplish, but he couldn't! Why? Because of her! Every bit of stress that weighed down his shoulders was because of her, and she was too dense to figure out why! It would've made his life so much more easier if he'd just never looked into her eyes - if he hadn't fallen in love with her first place!

"That gives you no right to do what you just - " She began scolding, folding her arms across her chest.

"Don't tell me what I should or shouldn't have done!" Syaoran interrupted, throwing his hands up in the air angrily, "If you weren't so dense, you would've seen the things he was doing to you! The things he was _going_ to do to you! I can't believe you're blaming _me!_" He screamed, for the moment forgetting how that would hurt her feelings.

But at the time, she looked anything but hurt. If anything, her anger and disappointment grew. "At least I'm not that dense to start a fight for absolutely no reason!" He gaped at her. No reason? No reason his ass. "He was being nice, Li! He was helping us out with the scavenger hunt! You can't stand not being the one on top, can you?"

He groaned, tangling his fingers within his chocolate brown locks, very nearly pulling them out. "That has nothing to do with it, Kinomoto!" He replied, he too calling her by her last name, "I really couldn't give a shit if I was the one that found the most things on our list! Don't you understand?"

An uncomfortable silence lapsed between the two once more. Syaoran was staring at her, praying to God that she understood why he'd done it. Fighting, to him, was not a big deal. But apparently, it was to her. He knew she hated violence. And he knew that she hated to see her friends fight. But he just couldn't help himself.

Like how he couldn't help himself but to warn her. "I don't want you near him." He said quietly.

Sakura let out an angry gasp. "You can't tell me who I can or cannot be near." She countered.

"You will listen to me!" He barked, practically commanding her. He wasn't thinking. He didn't know what he was saying. He never meant to order her around. "You're going to stay away from him, okay? I don't like him. And I don't care if I have to tie you up to that tree to keep you two at a distance!"

Sakura gaped at him. He never needed to tell her to stay away from him. From the moment he pulled her out of the lake the other day, he instantly gave her the creeps. She was only trying to be friendly by allowing him to sit with them during dinner, and in order to keep things going with the scavenger hunt, she thought they really could've used his help.

It wasn't like she had any feelings for him! If he really did have feelings for her and he planned on doing those things, Sakura could've handled herself. She could've told him no, and that would've been the end of it. Couldn't he trust her enough to do things for herself?

"Don't tell me what to do!" She screamed at him, angry tears forming in her pained eyes. "I am not Lois Lane, and I don't _need_ any so-called Superman!"

She backed away from him, slowly at first, but then spun on her heel, sprinting off to somewhere else in the forest. Groaning, Syaoran called after her, "Wait, Kinomoto!" He attempted to run after her, but she'd already got a good head start. "Damnit, Kinomoto, wait!" But by the time he'd gotten the last word out, she was already far, far into the forest and her footsteps could no longer be heard.

Screaming, he ripped a branch off the nearest tree and broke it into pieces, chucking the wood as far as he could across the vast and endless forest. With no more wood to throw, he punched savagely at another tree, injuring his knuckles and nearly making them bleed. He winced, shaking his fist off.

"For God's sakes..." he said to the air, "this is so messed up! It wasn't my fault!" He took another swing at the tree, "Did she really think I was going to let him do that stuff behind her back? She's blaming me, just for trying to protect her! Damnit!" Another swing.

Groaning, he held his head and took in fistuls of his chocolate brown hair. He slid down the length of the tree, scratching his back on the process, but he didn't care. He wasn't going to finish the scavenger hunt now. He had too much on his mind and Sakura to worry about. Even though he was really, really mad at her.

For the next few minutes or so he stayed in that position, knees up to his chest, hands nearly ripping his hair out. He closed his eyes momentarily and only opened them when he felt a drip of water dribble down his nose. He looked up at the sky. Thick black clouds began to gather above him and the faint rumble of thunder could be heard.

"She hates thunder..." he muttered beneath his breath. "Kinomoto!"

The last bits of daylight were disappearing quickly behind the clouds. He had to find her before either of them got lost in the woods.

**_xxxxxx_**

She heard him calling from behind her, "Wait, Kinomoto! Damnit, Kinomoto, wait!" But she didn't care. Angry tears fell from her eyes and they did not seem to stop flowing. Her tears and her anger fueled her to keep running faster, to keep on bringing one leg forward after another, as far away from him as she could.

She stopped abruptly, bending over and putting her hand on her knees. She gasped for air so the burning feeling in her lungs and stomach would somehow disappear.

"How dare he!" She seethed, beginning to pace when her breathing came back. "He had no right to do any of those things whatsoever! And to try and start something with Kihara-kun! Is he insane?" She stopped to glower at a nearby tree. "Don't agree with him!" She scolded it, as if the tree was speaking back to her.

"Just because he has saved my life more than once this year he doesn't have to look out for me every single second of every single day! I am _not_ his Lois Lane and he is most certainly not my Superman!"

In just the few moments that she paused to let her words make their impact in the thick air, tiny drops of rain began to fall from the sky, coming faster and faster with each passing second. "Great..." she muttered, her hair slowly getting damper and damper. "Ah!" She shrieked, when she heard the first rumble of thunder.

"Oh man!" She said, beginning to run again, though her legs were not yet rested enough. She was running again, hoping to find any open area that was not near any trees, or some sort of shelter that she could stay in until the storm passed. It was getting darker and darker and if there was anything she disliked more than thunder, it was the dark.

She had been running so fast she did not even notice the pot hole that she was running closer and closer to.

"_Aaaahhhh!_"

She fell through the hole, scratching any uncovered skin in the process. She landed roughly on her butt, but there was something that was aching more than her behind. Getting over the impact that she had felt when she landed, she stretched her arms out to the side to try and steady herself as she got up.

A sharp pain stabbed at her ankle. She fell back again, salty tears forming at the corner of her eyes. It seemed she had sprained it on her way down.

She began to hyperventilate, frantically searching for the pink key around her neck. All she would have to do is summon the Float Card and she would be out of the hole without having to move her ankle. But the rain fell harder and harder and the claps of thunder that came continuously one after the other made her head feel dizzy.

Her hand fell limp as the pink key hung loosely from her neck. She fainted from pain and fear before she could even call on the staff.

**_xxxxxx_**

"_Aaaahhhh!_"

Syaoran's ears perked. He would recognize that scream from anywhere, even if his current surroundings were so loud they could deafen him. He'd heard it one too many times already. It could only be Sakura's.

He picked up his running pace, sprinting into the direction that he heard the scream loudest. But there was another thing guiding him. It came so strongly to him that he had to stop and steady himself to get used to the feeling of Sakura's aura. It was like a strong fire, but it was slowly starting to fade, like a candle being blown out. Slowly.

If he didn't figure out where she was before her aura disappeared, he would have to wait until the storm passed to finally reach her!

He couldn't tell if he was going in the right direction. Her aura was barely even noticeable now. He was relying on instinct and his instinct never failed him before, and he prayed, now of all times, it would not.

He nearly fell over when he came screeching to a stop before a large hole. If he had kept on running he would've fallen in. Catching his breath, he went to go around it, but noticed a soft, pink glow coming from inside the hole. He got onto his knees and scrunched his eyes.

"Sakura!" He called into the hole, his voice worried. "Sakura, can you hear me?"

No response came.

"Sakura! I need to know if you can hear me!"

Still he heard nothing. Only the pounding of the rain and the clapping of thunder.

First thing was first. He inhaled slowly, bringing his hands together in front of his chest. As if heavy, his eyelids dropped over his amber eyes and did not lift until a transparent white protective dome surrounded he and the hole that Sakura was in.

The dome provided a sheltered area. The cold fell away from Syaoran's arms and only the very faint rumbling from the outside could be heard. In this dome, they were safe.

"Sakura..." he tried again, "please answer me."

Nothing.

No matter. The fact that she was unconscious was not important anymore. He had to get her out of the whole.

He closed his eyes once more, remaining on his knees. He brought his fingers up to his temples and recited, "Elemental powers of the earth, bring forth the one who resides beneath the ground."

For a single moment, everything was quiet. Out of the silence a gentle rumbling could be heard, and it was not coming from outside. The ground beneath the dome began to quake, and slowly, the ground that Sakura was in began to rise upward, higher and higher until there was no more hole, and she was on the same ground level as Syaoran.

He gathered her in his arms and lay her on top of his knees. He checked for a pulse to make sure that she was still breathing, and to his relief, she was. He guessed she must've just passed out.

He examined her body for any possible injures. Her ankle immediately caught hist attention. It was slightly purple and swollen. He brought two fingers to it and pressed lightly. Sakura winced unconsciously. Obviously she had sprained it.

He immediately went to work, healing her ankle enough so that it was not sprained, simply very bruised.

Suddenly, she began to stir. Afraid of what she might see when her eyes opened, he got rid of the protective dome and quickly finished up with her ankle. The rain wasn't falling as hard as before and there was no more thunder. He sighed, just as Sakura's eyes opened at the speed of a snail.

"Sakura...are you okay?" He asked, concerned.

"You..." she replied breathlessly, "you called me Sakura..."

His eyes instantly widened. He didn't even realize it himself, that he had gone and called her by her first name. He was so worried he didn't even think to call her anything else but that. Hopefully she wouldn't be bothered by it.

"Syaoran."

His shoulders tensed. She had just called _him_ by _his_ first name.

"Yes?" He answered quietly.

"I thought I felt..." she whispered, before her eyelids began to close again, "I thought I felt...an...aura..."

Her eyes closed once more. She snored lightly, a cute kind of snoring that was not at all disgusting.

But Syaoran didn't have time to adore the way she slept. She had felt his aura when she was unconscious and he was using his magic. He had to be more careful about what he did around her. She nearly found out about his secret. And he'd rather tell her himself than to have her find out the difficult way.

He scooped her up in his arms and brought her back to the mess hall, where all the scavenger hunt participants were supposed to meet. Sakura was immediately taken to a nursing room and Syaoran was once again thanked for rescuing her.

Their last day at Camp Sunshine and it rained. But Syaoran's spirits were so bright he hardly even noticed anymore. He and Sakura were on a first name basis, and that was all that mattered to him. For the moment.

-

-

-

-

**For those who don't understand: When Japanese people call someone by their first name and their first name only, it is usually for romantic reasons. So if you call someone by their first name in Japanese it's probably because you have feelings for them, or you just really, really, really care about them. **

Hope you enjoyed the update.

Signing Off,  
Agent08 - _My life as a secret agent _xD


	17. The Carnival for the Graduating Class

Agent08 Reporting for Duty!

Now on with chapter fourteen!

**Saving Syaoran**

_The Carnival for the Graduating Class_

Just take her hand.

Finally, after hours of hesitation, Syaoran took Sakura's hand and held it tightly. She wasn't awake yet, lying on a nursing bed at Camp Sunshine.

She lapsed in and out of consciousness during the night. Syaoran knew because he had been there, sitting on a chair and staring at her. It took him the entire night to finally muster up the courage to hold her hand. He didn't want to in case she woke up again. She'd already caught him doing it once when she opened her eyes out of the blue. But then in the next second, she was back asleep.

Still. He didn't want to get caught again.

Speaking of getting caught.

Just the other night when he saved her from the storm and healed her ankle, she had sensed his magic. He was a complete idiot to think that he could go on for so long without her noticing anything. He knew that it was just a matter of time before he got tangled up in his lies and she ended up finding out about his mission the hard way.

He couldn't let that happen.

He would tell her and apologize and say that the minute he realized he was in love with her he decided he would not go through with it.

And then he'd tell her that he loved her.

It sounded pretty simple, but then again: Some things are easier said than done.

The early morning light shone through the blinds of the one bed, tiny cabin that they were residing in. It had one sink set off in the corner with a few cabinets containing medical equipment hanging out of the walls. Syaoran was really starting to get sick of that room.

Sakura began to stir and his hand removed from hers like it was deathly hot. Her eyes fluttered open slowly. The first thing she saw was him.

"Li-kun?" She said, her voice quiet.

Syaoran bit his lip. But he thought they were on a first name basis!

"Hi." He said simply.

"Where am I?" She asked, moving to sit up. She winced when she put pressure on her ankle and fell back onto her back.

Syaoran held her hed softly and shushed her. "You're in a nursing cabin. Do you remember what happened last night?"

He half hoped that she didn't. If she did remember what happened last night, then she would remember that she sensed some sort of magic when he was the only other person around. It would be nice if she didn't remember, but then she would be forgetting about the first name basis that Syaoran was so joyous about.

"Yes." She answered.

His spirts both fell and rose.

"You bruised your ankle when you were running."

"When I was running away from you?" She asked bitterly. That was the first time he ever heard her sound so mean. He turned his head sharply towards her but she was looking out a window, avoiding his eye.

"Can we talk about that?" He requested, hoping that they could get all the cards on the table to sort everything out.

He forgot to remember that if she really could recall what happened the other night, she would also be able to remember the argument that they had over who he wanted or didn't want to be near her.

"Do you have anyone else you want me to stay away from?" She asked.

He sighed, lowering his eyes to the floor. "I'm sorry I got so worked up. It's just that you didn't realize that Kihara was so obviously trying to get with you. I had to do something, he was doing such gross things behind your back..." he continued apologizing with every type of word he could use that fit.

"Is that the truth?" Sakura asked, though she knew it had to be. Syaoran would never lie to her.

"It is."

It was her turn to sigh. "I'm sorry, then, too. I shouldn't have yelled like that."

"Me neither." He agreed. "So are we okay?"

"We're okay."

She said that they were okay but it certainly did not feel like it. Normally Sakura would've brought up another subject would've changed the awkward feel in the room to a happy, cheerful one. But instead the awkward tension remained, silencing both of them.

He wanted to say something to remind her that they were on a first name basis. But he didn't want to say her name and risk getting corrected by her with her last name. Kinomoto-san.

"What time is it?" She asked.

Syaoran checked his watch robotically. "Only seven in the morning."

"Aren't we leaving today?"

"Oh shit." He cursed, remembering that he still had a little packing left to do before all the seniors left in the afternoon.

"Li-kun," she said scoldingly. Li-kun. What happened to Syaoran!

"Do you still have things to pack?"

"Yeah," she said, very slowly sitting up. "Just a few things, though. I'll be able to finish it in time before we leave. So you can go."

His whole body tensed. Was she asking him to leave?

"But I can't just leave you here..."

"Why not?" She asked. It wasn't a rude tone or anything. It just sounded like she wanted to be alone.

"I want to stay." He said firmly.

"You have things to pack!" She protested, gently pushing him away.

"I have to stay with you."

"No you don't!" She said, her voice just a little bit irritated. "Just go, I want to sleep for a few more hours, anyway."

Reluctantly he left.

He shut the cabin door shut behind him and walked sadly back to his own cabin. The morning trumpet began to play in the distance, waking all the other seniors up. He knew that Sakura wouldn't have too because of her anke. It would be just fine in just a few more hours. After all, it was only a little swollen and bruised.

He began to pack, ignoring his cabin mates as they got ready for their final meal at Camp Sunshine. He didn't feel like eating that morning. He didn't feel like eating for the rest of the entire day, in fact. He knew that he and Sakura were not acting how they normally did around each other and it was because of him.

Maybe things would get back to normal soon, in time for their date to the Spring Formal. It was in only one week. In fact, things _had_ to be back to normal by then. He wouldn't be able to handle it if things weren't.

**_xxxxxx_**

"He's keeping something from me, I know it." Sakura said to Tomoyo as she stuffed things into her suitcase, hopping back and forth on her good leg. She could walk on it fine, it just hurt to do so.

"Like what?" Tomoyo very nearly exploded. She and Sakura had been talking about the other night's events for almost an hour, debating over what could've happened (because Sakura couldn't remember), what she felt (because she knew she felt something), and if she was able to trust Syaoran.

"Hoe, I don't know!" She exclaimed hopelessly, plomping down onto Tomoyo's bed. "I remember feeling magic, Tomoyo-chan. And I also remember Li-kun being the only person there with me. So what does that mean, Tomoyo-chan? What does it mean?"

"What makes you so sure that the magic was coming from Li-kun?"

"A feeling..." she replied hesitantly.

"A feeling?" Tomoyo echoed unsurely. "Sakura-chan, don't shut out Li-kun just because of this feeling that is making you not trust him." She placed her hand gently on her knee, "You and Li-kun are close. Really close. I'm sure that he would never lie to you. And if he ever did, I'm sure he'd tell you the truth sooner or later."

"You think?" She asked hopefully.

"You know I do!" Tomoyo answered cheerfully.

Sakura sighed, shaking her head back and forth. "I don't know. I guess I'll just...keep doing what I'm doing and see what happens between us..."

Tomoyo narrowed her eyes. "And what exactly is it that you are doing that you will keep on doing?"

It was a weird setence. Sakura had to think before she replied. And then, she opened her mouth to say, "I don't know!" again for the millionth time that day.

**_xxxxxx_**

"She left!" Syaoran exclaimed incredulously, pacing the floor of Yamazaki's house frustratedly with both him and Eriol present. They watched as he continued walking back and forth from one end of the room to the other, hands behind his back, brows furrowed.

Angrily, he threw his hands up in the air. "She left without even saying bye to me! She hasn't even spoken to me since I left the nursing cabin!"

The seniors of Tomoeda High were back in town, causing an uproar. That meant that the Spring Formal was literally just right around the corner, and with every Spring Formal there is a graduation, and with every graduation, there is a busy, busy town. Tomoeda's not exactly a big place, if you know what I mean, so everyone - seriously _everyone_ - prepares/does something for the current graduating class.

For example, when the buses from Camp Sunshine rolled into the school parking lot where the kids would be picked up by their parents or be driving themselves home, the seniors were greeted by a bright, colourful banner held up by practically every parent of the Parents Care Team, that had a son or daughter part of the graduating class. And that was a lot.

_Welcome Back, Seniors! _it read in big, bulging capital letters. Kids stood to wave out the windows for the waiting parents or friends or whoever there was to see them. Syaoran smiled and waved to Wei who was standing a little ways back, away from the hoards of people. He was acting like his pleasant self as always, just as happy to see his master back than he was.

All the seniors clambered off the buses and went to greet their parents/whoever else. Syaoran walked up to Wei, hugging him lightly. It was one of the very few times that he did so.

"I'm glad you're back, Syaoran-sama." Wei said sweetly.

"Me too. Missed having you around," he admitted.

He was then joined by Yamazaki with Eriol in tow. They both bowed to Wei as he did so back. "Li-kun, want to come back to my house to hang out?"

"I still have to unpack, guys." Syaoran said. It sounded like fun, going to Yamazaki's house. He'd never been there before. But he couldn't just leave his things in his suitcase.

"Please go, Syaoran-sama," Wei offered, taking his suitcase from him.

"I can't let you unpack for me, Wei." He objected.

"I won't, if you do not wish me to. I will put it in your bedroom. You can unpack later."

Syaoran smiled gratefully to Wei and joined his friends. Yamazaki's parents were there, of course, and they would be the ones driving the threesome back to his home. Eriol's parents were all the way in London, so he had no one to wait for. It didn't make him sad, really. Not to say that he was as cold as Syaoran was, he just wasn't easily saddened by the fact that he was thousands of miles away from his family.

"Wait, can we say goodbye, first?" Yamazaki requested, stopping his friends and walking up to Chiharu. She was in an animated conversation with both Tomoyo and Sakura, all of their own parents speaking to one another in a different circle.

"Bye, Yamazaki," Chiharu said, hugging him goodbye. He hugged her back lightly, giving her hand a tight squeeze. They never did anything too romantic in front of their parents.

"Bye, sweetheart."

Eriol and Tomoyo shared their own mushy gushy farewell, as Sakura stood behind them looking down as if not wanting to intrude of anything. Syaoran smiled weakly, walking up to her a little less confidently than he wanted. He saw her eyes flicker across the ground, to his approaching feet. And then, they widened as if panicked, and took another few steps backwards, away from the crowds, and from him.

He stopped in his tracks, confused. She was still looking down, but her eyes seemed to be knowing something, like they knew he was trying to speak her but she wouldn't let her tell-tale eyes give her away.

He couldn't be too sure, and decided to just keep on trying anyway. He kept on walking forward. She spotted his movement once again and took a few more steps backward, hoping to blend in, trying not to make it obvious that she was trying to avoid him.

He was frustrated with her and wanted to know why she was acting like that. Even on the bus she had sat as far away from him as she could, but he forced himself to think of that as a coincidence. And the fact that their distance on the bus and the rest of the time they spent at camp apart were the only reason she was not speaking to him. He was questioning so much things he thought he was so sure of, and she was the only person that could give him an answer.

She looked downright frightened when he continued to walk forward. So much that she raised her eyes, just for a fraction of a second, to meet his own. Her eyes conveyed to him in that one lasting moment to _please, please don't come near. I can't speak to you right now. Not for a while. _And then she turned around, as if distracted even though he knew better, and ran back to her dad to say one last goodbye.

Which would explain his whole, "She left without saying bye to me!" vent.

"Maybe she was in a hurry," Eriol suggested positively.

"Yeah right." Syaoran grumbled miserably, plopping down onto Yamazaki's bed, his hands cupping his face. "She's avoiding me like the plague. I don't get it! Just 'cause I almost punched the lights out of the guy that _obviously_ had no good intentions to her, she freaks out and decides she doesn't want to talk to me?"

Okay, so, maybe it was true that he'd done something he knew she would've disapproved of. Like start a fight. He of all people knew how much she hated violence. But he also knew it was more than that. She wasn't just not talking to him because of the fact that he started a fight with Tai, but also because she suspected him of something. She felt him using his powers and he couldn't confirm or deny her thoughts without bringing it up himself. Unless she did.

But why would she? See, _that's_ the whole point. She _wouldn't_ bring it up because she was avoiding him, and so it had to be _him_ to bring it up, and he couldn't do that without revealing to her why he was in Tomoeda in the _first place!  
_  
"Why don't you just tell her you like her?" Yamazaki then said, popping a chip into his mouth, "That'll butter her up and get her to forgive you."

Syaoran's head snapped up, glaring daggers at his friend. "Who said I liked her?"

"Who needed to?" He practically snorted back, almost choking on the chip he was eating due to laughter. "I mean, it's kind of obvious."

"Obvious _how?_" Syaoran demanded.

"Let's see..." Yamazaki began, holding up his index finger, "Number one, you're taking her to the spring formal - "

" - As friends!"

"Number two," Eriol chimed in, holding up two fingers, "you're freaking out because she's not talking to you - "

" - I'd do the same if any other girl wasn't!"

"And number three," Yamazaki then held up three fingers, "you wouldn't be so defensive about not liking her."

Syaoran glared at the both of them as they smirked back at him. "That's all such bull."

"Is it now?"

"Yeah, it is!" He snapped, holding up is his own finger, "Number one," he said mimickingly, "we're going as friends for the last time! And who knows if she's still even up for it? It's obvious she's bugged out me." He held up another finger. "Number two, how can I not get defensive? You're accusing me of liking one of my friends!" He held up his last finger, "And number three, I'd freak out if a _guy_ wasn't speaking to me, either!"

Both Yamazaki and Eriol paused. Until Yamazaki said, "Well, that totally proves us wrong - "

"Damn right," Syaoran grumbled.

" - 'Cause it sounds to me like you're gay."

Eriol snorted with laughter, nearly doubling over. Syaoran scowled at him and replied, "Har, har, Mr. Smart Ass. Real funny."

Once Eriol had belted out what was left of his laughter he'd said, "Well, it's not like she doesn't like you too,"

His ears suddenly perked. "What?"

"Well, I kind of have the vibe Sakura-chan likes you too," Eriol said, and then added, "you know, excluding the whole avoid-you-at-all-cost thing."

"Listen!" Yamazaki interrupted, "You two can kiss and make up at the Carnival for the Graduating Class tomorrow night, alright? I mean, we're all going, aren't we?"

"I am," Eriol answered, "and as far as I know, so are all the girls."

The Carnival for the Graduating Class was, of course, created for the Graduating Class and was cleverly titled as so. It was created to fundraise money for them so that they could have the best graduation they could possibly have.I'm telling you, people in Tomoeda go nuts for the graduating class.

"I don't know. Should I?" Syaoran asked.

"Of course you should." Yamazaki replied irritatedly. "Once we're at the carnival, you and Kinomoto-san can talk, and Hiirigizawa over here can finally ask Daidouji-san to the Spring Formal!"

Syaoran's eyes widened in shock. "_You haven't asked her yet?_"

Eriol flushed almost immediately, trying to hide his face by looking down. "I haven't exactly had the chance..."

"_Haven't had the chance?_" Syaoran was smiling now, almost laughing, "Kinomoto's been going out of her own freaking schedule to get you two alone so that you could ask her, and not to mention, Camp Sunshine could've been your honeymoon for God's sakes. You two were together the entire time!"

Yamazaki was smiling sadly now, too. "Dude," he said, "you're such a coward."

"No kidding!" Syaoran said, "The Spring Formal is in less than a week. I'm surprised the girl hasn't given up all hope."

"Oh, she has." Yamazaki announced.

Eriol's jaw dropped. "What? Is she going with someone else?"

"Nope, going with her friends." He answered, "But Kinomoto-san's been trying to cheer her up. She's pretty mad at you right now, for not asking her right away."

"How do you know all this?"

"My girlfriend is in with the network." He replied easily. "The Girl Network. They've got connections, man. It's scary."

"Whatever!" Eriol replied, exasperatedly. "Now we _have_ to go to that stupid Carnival Kick Off to claim our women!"

"Dude," Yamazaki said again, "I'm not a feminininny-ist or whatever the heck it's called, but don't you think that sounded a little sexist?"

"You know what I mean!" He snapped.

"I'm not exactly going to _claim my woman,_" Syaoran said, one eyebrow raised, totally weirded out by his friends, "but I do have to sort things out with Sakura."

"And I have to ask to Tomoyo to the formal." Eriol said immediately after.

"And I'm totally okay with my girlfriend, so it sucks to be you guys." Yamazaki then replied cheerfully.

There was silence for a moment or two, until Yamazaki said, "What do we do now?"

"What do you mean?" Syaoran asked.

"Do we...like...put our hands together and say, 'All for one and one for all!' or something?"

Syaoran and Eriol pulled appalled faces. "We are _not_ doing that," Syaoran said firmly.

"And we are _not_ the three muskateers."

Yamazaki then clapped, rubbing his hands together as if he had something really interestesting to say. "You know the story about the three muskateers is not what most people think it is, with them saving people's lives and stuff, they were actually the worst of thieves..."

Eriol and Syaoran groaned as they indulged into the fifth tall-tale Yamazaki told since they arrived at his house.

**_xxxxxx_**

"So what's the plan tonight?" Tomoyo asked Sakura as they strode past the entrance of the Carnival. They were fast approaching the three boys who had already caught sight of them, those boys being the ones they hung out with nearly everday. Chiharu and Yamazaki were way ahead of them though, jogging to meet each other halfway.

"I don't know," Sakura replied quietly, keeping her eyes glued to the ground. She could feel those amber eyes staring at her like there was no tomorrow. "I just can't speak to him right now, Tomoyo-chan. Give it a rest."

"Do you honestly think I'd do something like that?" Tomoyo asked, as if what Sakura had just said was offensive.

Sakura was sure that the carnival could've caused a power outage in her neighbourhood what with all the bright lights illuminating the entire area.. Booths of all sorts were planted off to various parts of the carnival ground each with a different activity, each costing only a small amount of money to be played.

Off to the right there was a kissing booth there the line reached almost down the block, to the left there was a shoot the duck kind of booth that won you a stuffed animal if you were able to shoot enough of them, and a velcrow booth that required one to wear a velcrow suit and sprint towards a solid wall.

It was amazing, really, and anyone with half a mind knew that some interesting things would be happening later on in the night.

"Hey guys," Tomoyo greeted, smiling at Eriol. Sakura was really surprised to see Tomoyo handle herself so nicely in front of him even though she was falling apart inside due to the fact that he hadn't asked her to the formal yet.

"Hey," Eriol replied. They walked fell in step together, walking behind the couple in front of them (that couple being Chiharu and Yamazaki), following them to their first booth of the night. To Sakura's displeasure, there was only one other person to walk with. It was like Camp Sunshine all over again, except her feelings were different this time. Slightly.

"Hey," Syaoran greeted.

She smiled at him. "Hi." She said quietly.

"Nice night, huh?" He asked.

She nodded. And it really was. The colourful lights stood out so nicely against the dark night sky. No clouds could be detected, which was a nice, but then again, no stars could be either, which wasn't so nice. But the lights were stars enough for them.

The group reached the shooting duck booth. The current man holding the pretend rifle, shooting at the ducks was just finishing up his game with a grunt. Apparently he had just wasted his money on a game he sucked at.

"Oh, win me something Yamazaki, please?" Chiharu whined.

"But you already have so many stuffed animals," he protested, "and I suck at this game."

"Please!" She continued to plead.

Syaoran walked forward slowly, grabbing the rifle and examining it. "It looks easy enough." He said.

"Why don't you try it out then?" Yamazaki suggested.

Syaoran shrugged, handing over the amount of money it cost to play. His friends crowded around him as the rifle was re-loaded and the fake ducks were set up in a row before him, spaced out and set up on different levels of shelves, hoping to try and make it seem difficult.

"Shoot five from this distance, you win a small stuffed animal. Shoot ten, you get medium. Fifteen gets you a large."

"Which size would you like?" Syaoran asked Chiharu very gentleman-like. Yamazaki rolled his eyes.

Chiharu pouted. "That's nice of you, Li-kun. But I wanted Yamazaki to win it for me."

"Then he's playing for nothing," Yamazaki said.

"No, it's okay." Syaoran answered. He brought the rifle up to a comfortable shooting position and squinted his eyes at the fake ducks. He aimed at one in the far right corner. He kept on adjusting and readjusting his aim, until finally, he was about to pull the handle back.

"Isn't that a little far?" The booth keeper asked.

Ignoring him, Syaoran pulled it backwards, a peg went flying forward, hitting the fake duck square in the stomach. "Nope," he answered modestly. Syaoran chose nine other ducks to shoot, all of which he hit with such grace and ease. He was given the choice of the medium sized stuffed animal of his liking, and that happened to be of a white bunny rabbit.

Once the group began walking in their normal groups again, he handed it to Sakura, looking away shyly. "Here," he offered.

Sakura stared at it, unsure. "Um...no, it's okay."

He tried not to let the hurt show on his face. "I want you to have it."

"Are you sure?" Sakura asked, bringing her hand up slowly to take it from him. He knew that just because she said no at first, didn't mean she wouldn't take it. If he kept insisting on her having it, she would eventually cave and accept it. She was a sucker for stuffed animals. He knew it wouldn't take long for her to snap.

"Of course. Besides, do I look like the kind of guy to keep stuffed animals?" He pulled a macho pose to try and make her laugh.

She giggled, of course, but then stopped abruptly. She looked away, hugging the bunny to her chest and cringing, as if giving herself a mental scolding for laughing. Syaoran sighed, not wanting to beat around the bush anymore.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"Nothing's wrong..." she replied.

"Yes, there is something wrong. I thought you said we were okay, Kinomoto-san."

"We are okay," she insisted, finally choosing to look him in the eye. She didn't convince him, though, not with the way that she was acting, anyway.

"Obviously we are not. You're acting...different."

"Give me a break, I am not." She said a little rudely. He was taken aback.

"Kinomoto-san, come - "

He was interrupted by her gasp. She had stopped suddenly, and was staring at something a few feet from where they stood. He followed the direction of her gaze and saw that Tomoyo and Eriol were in a line and were just about to board a boat that lead into a tunnel filled with water. Above this tunnel was a big red, pink, and black sign that read: The Tunnel of Love.

Dropping everything, Sakura ran to catch up to the two. The distance was too far, though, for when she finally caught up to them, the two had already boarded the boat and were floating down further and further into the tunnel. Syaoran was right behind her, wondering what on earth she was going to do now.

"Here," she said, throwing the tunnel keeper a couple of coins which should've been enough to pay for the tunnel ride.

"Not so fast, miss," the tunnel keeper said, pulling her back for she was just about to step into the boat. "You can't ride the Tunnel of Love alone. Each passenger must have someone else aboard with them," he recited robotically.

"For goodness sake!" Sakura sighed, straining to get a further look down the tunnel. If she didn't get on that boat quick enough, she wouldn't be able to catch up to Tomoyo and Eriol and eavesdrop on their conversation.

Noting her desperation, Syaoran stepped into the boat, pulling Sakura in with him. He handed the keeper his own amount of money and said, "I'm with her."

He rolled his eyes impatiently and pulled a lever, which got the boat moving. The boats were obviously connected to a mechanic trail beneath the water, guiding them to the end of the tunnel.

The tunnel was dark and scary, almost. Until images of cupid and scenes from Romeo and Juliet and some romantic, stupid, sappy love song began playing softly in the background. Then it just became sickening. Syaoran had to try his hardest not to gag.

"No where were we?" He asked, turning to Sakura who was sitting as far away from him as possible. He scooted over closer to her, hoping to make it look casual.

"Oh come on, I don't have time for this." Sakura leaned over the boat, trying to see the mechanichal railings. "Ugh! Can't this thing move any faster?"

"Talk to me," Syaoran very nearly pleaded, "I want to know what I did wrong. Tell me so I can apologize and so that I can say I will never do it again." This was his way of getting her to bring up the whole sensing-his-magical-powers thing without him having to do so.

"You didn't do anything wrong..." she told him, but he knew better.

"Then why are you treating me like this?"

"Like what?"

"You're practically avoiding me, Kinomto-san. And what's with the last name basis?" He gathered up all the courage he could muster and finally said what had been on his mind for nearly the entire day. "I know you recall calling me by my first name."

"I also recall you called me by my first name first, so why are _you_ calling me by my last?" She snapped.

"Because you are calling _me_ by my last!" He retorted angrily.

There was silence for a few minutes. They could hear the soft murmuring voices of the couple of ahead of them, that couple being Tomoyo and Eriol. But they were too far away to make out anything of what they were saying. So Sakura's entire purpose of going on this ride to eavesdrop had been totally in vain. But not Syaoran's.

"Why are we fighting?" He asked her. "We never fought before."

"I..." she breathed. If they didn't talk now, they wouldn't be able to for another long while. He knew that if they didn't get things sorted out, she would try ten times as hard as before to stay away from him. And they were nearing the end of the tunnel, so they needed to do this quickly. "I..."

"You...?" He coaxed.

Sakura positioned herself differently on the boat and cleared her throat. "Let me ask you this, Li-kun." Last name. Ouch. "Would you ever lie to me?"

Of course, Syaoran knew what she was talking about and of course, he had lied to her. He was still lying to her! The longer he kept the truth about his mission in Tomoeda from her, more and more the lie stretched until it smothered him completely.

"What kind of question is that?" He asked, stalling for time.

"I just need to know," she answered, "answer that one question truthfully for me and everything will be alright. It's crucial that you answer truthfully."

If only she hadn't said that. If only she had never, ever said that. Ever so slowly, his heart slipped lower and lower down to rock bottom, where it shattered to pieces as he said, "No."

-

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**Oh, heartbreaking, eh? I'm so sorry it took so long to update. You know me, lazy-pazy! Keep them readers coming! Me hope you likey!  
**  
Signing Off,  
Agent08 - _My life as a secret agent _xD


	18. The Spring Formal

**Agent08 Reporting for Duty!**

Now on with chapter ten!

**Saving Syaoran**

_The Spring Formal_

It wasn't his fault, really. Okay, so maybe it was. He had the perfect opprotunity to tell Sakura the truth, once and for all, and he completely blew it. But the poor guy wasn't ready. I mean really, imagine yourself in his position...he was sweating bullets, hands shaking like there was no tomorrow...really, you guys. Cut him some slack.

But hey, I don't blame you guys for thinking he's stupid.

If Sakura kept her word - if she truly meant that if he answered truthfully, everything would be okay...then, everything wouldn't be okay. Because he hadn't answered truthfully. But how was she supposed to know that?

As Syaoran tried his hardest to inwardly try and reassemble his broken heart, Sakura's nervous, serious face broke out into a joyous grin. "I knew you wouldn't!" She exclaimed happily, hugging him, only making him feel all the more worse. "You're the greatest, Syaoran."

Syaoran...finally! She had called him by his first name! But why of all times, now? When he felt down in the dumps and nothing could cheer him up? Not even her, calling him by his first name.

"Yeah..."

The boat eventually reached the end of the tunnel and stopped just behind Tomoyo and Eriol's boat. Syaoran took Sakura's elbow, helping her out, and went to join their friends a few paces ahead of them. Through all his guiltiness, he hadn't even realized that they'd been holding hands.

"What is this?" Sakura asked suspiciously, that grin still on her face. She was obviously indicating the linked hands.

Neither of the two answered, only blushed and looked away.

Sakura shrieked with delight and pulled her best friend away, wanting to know all the details immediately, leaving Syaoran and Eriol with each other. "Looks like somebody finally asked Daidouji-san to the Spring Formal." Syaoran commented, trying his best to act happy for the sake of his good friends.

"Not just that!" Eriol replied cheerfully, slapping his back, "I asked her to be my girlfriend!"

Syaoran's eyes widened. "Well, that's...great. That's really great for you guys."

"I know!" He exclaimed. His eyes then narrowed in suspiscion, nudging poor Syaoran in the ribs. "What were you and Sakura-san doing in the Love Tunnel together, huh?" Syaoran could only roll his eyes and look away. He was feeling like crap. He didn't need to be teased by Eriol at the moment. "Were me and Tomoyo not the only friends that got together tonight?"

"Oh, will you shutup?" Syaoran snapped, earning a good hearty laugh from his friend. It seemed nothing could get him down that night. "We didn't 'get together,' alright? Sakura wanted to get on board to spy on you two but she couldn't unless she went on with somebody else. I just happened to be right there."

"Right." Eriol said disbelievingly, "Right."

_**xxxxxx**_

"I'm officially taken!" Tomoyo cried, squeezing Sakura's hands to death, "Taken by the greatest guy in all of Tomoeda!"

"And I was wrong! I was completely wrong!" Sakura then said, returning the hard squeeze, "Whatever I sensed back at Camp Sunshine - I was wrong! Syaoran-kun just told me he would never lie to me!"

"That's great, Sakura-chan!"

They paused to look at the other's smiling face, and then suddenly both burst out into laughter. It had always been like that, ever since they were little. If Tomoyo got sick, Sakura got sick. If one of them had their period, the other did too. If something significant happened with a boy, the same thing happened to the other. Yep.

"It took him long enough to ask you, though," Sakura said with a shrug.

"The important thing is that he did." Tomoyo replied, linking her arms with Sakura.

"Who knew senior year could be this great?" Sakura asked happily, linking arms with her best friend and walking back to their boys.

"Just wait until we graduate, Sakura-chan," Tomoyo told her, "we still have that left. Not to mention, the Spring Formal, which might I remind you, is in less than a week."

"What do you think will happen?"

"I really don't know, but something tells me it'll be a night to remember."

_**xxxxxx**_

Syaoran paced the length of his room, clearly frustrated, angry, and disappointed with himself. Since that night at the Carnival for the Graduating Class, Sakura began acting herself with him again, as if nothing at all had happened. And he hated himself for it. When, he wondered, when would he finally be able to muster up the guts he needed to tell her the truth?

To make matters worse, he still had to take her to the Spring Formal. The Spring Formal! When he'd first asked her out of pure impulsiveness, it seemed like light years away! But it was just the next day! And he didn't know how to show her a good time if he wasn't in the mood to be around her, and since the Tunnel of Love, he hadn't felt like it for quite some time.

"Syaoran-sama," he heard.

"Yes?" He replied, trying not to sound snappy.

Wei was at the door, covering the mouth piece of the cordless phone. "It's your mother," he whispered, extending the phone out towards him. Syaoran sighed heavily. Perfect. His mother. What did she want? The last thing he needed at the moment was to be spoken to by his mother on his stupid, suck-ass "mission."

"Mother," he said into the phone, nodding to way in gratitude as he shut the door to give him some privacy. "Hi."

There was a moment of silence before she replied. "Xiao-Lang." She greeted. Puzzled for just a second, Syaoran took the phone away from his ear and stared at it as if it just told him the moon was made out of cheese. Was it just him, or did his mother sound _happy?_ "It is rather nice to hear your voice. Too often a time have I called and have been told by Wei that you were busy."

Ah, yes. Hearing that, Syaoran did feel a little bit of guilt. Since about a month ago, his mother and the elders had been calling quite frequently, wanting updates on the mission. It was because of his lies that they were so eager to speak to him about it. The first few times they called he'd told Wei to tell them that "everything is going according to plan and the cards will be in his possession in no time at all," and that "he apologizes, however he is too pre-occupied carrying out those plans to speak to anybody at the moment."

That, of course, was a very _big_ lie. Because he wasn't going through with that mission. He would never complete it, not even if they sentenced him to a lifetime of training.

"Um, yes..." Syaoran replied, returning the phone to his ear, "It is nice to hear your voice as well."

Another bit of silence. "Wei has told the elders and I that your mission is nearly complete. Is that true, Xiao-Lang?"

He cringed. He knew that telling his mother that he was in love with the Card Mistress, and telling her that he would not be able to complete his task was not something he should be saying over the phone. But he had no other choice. He messed up once when he was given the golden opprotunity to make things right. He wouldn't let it go to waste this time.

"Mother..." he said quietly, "I actually need to tell you something concerning my mission."

"What is that?" She asked curiously.

He took a deep breath before continuing. "Well, mother, before I tell you anything at all...I know how much this mission means to you and the elders, and...and..." he dropped his head into his hands, feeling a migraine coming on. "I only ever wanted to make you proud of me, mother, please understand that."

"Xiao-Lang," she said unbelievingly, wasting no time at all to reply, "Is _that_ what you wanted to tell me?"

"Well, no, actually I - "

"Xiao-Lang Li, I have always been proud of you." She interrupted, instantly shutting him up. He furrowed his eyebrows together, wondering if he really heard what he'd just heard his mother say. "With everything you have ever done in your life, Xiao-Lang, I have been proud of you. Since the first moment you laughed, cried, walked, spoke, et cetera...I have never been ashamed of you, nor will I ever." She stated firmly.

"Mother, I...I..." he tried, but couldn't find the right words. He remained silent after trying and failing to find the right words to reply with and also because his throat was beginning to tighten up quite painfully.

"Whether you are successful with this mission or not," she said, "I shall always be proud of you, my son. As well as your father, though he may not be with us anymore...but I know, if he could see, he would be as well."

Funny thing the way she said _if_. She knew, in her heart of hearts, that there was no _if_. Because though he was resting in peace, he _could_ see it. And he was more than proud.

_**xxxxxx**_

Syaoran hadn't told his mother that night. He couldn't find it in him to tell her, even through all the things she'd said to him. He knew that if there was anybody he should be telling the truth to and apologizing to first, it had to be Sakura. And he wasn't going to waste anymore time trying to find his courage.

Because he'd found it laying with his mother. She'd given it to him and now he was going to put it to use. And thanks to her, not only was he going to tell her the truth, he was going to tell her how he felt.

All on the night of the Spring Formal.

He had no other choice. He'd only _just_ found the courage the other night, and he wasn't going to see Sakura at all until the very next day, which, coincidentally enough, was the day of the Spring Formal.

He straightened his tie in the mirror, running his comb through his brown hair for the millionth time and smoothed down the non-existent creases in his black dress pants. He had a matching black coat to boot and just a dab of the cologne Wei lent to him on his chest. He was going to be picking up Sakura in just a few moments.

"My, my, Syaoran-sama," Wei complimented, "you dress up quite nicely."

"Thanks," he replied, blushing just a little.

"Shall you get going, then?" He suggested.

With one final look in his mirror and a glance at his mother's photo for luck, he took his cell phone from his desktop and flew out the door with way, ready to show Sakura a good time and not quite prepared to do everything else.

_**xxxxxx**_

Syaoran tapped on the ground beneath him, waiting for someone to answer Sakura's front door. Wei was waiting in the parked limosine as their chaffeur for the evening, giving Syaoran a calming glance that told him to be patient. It wasn't that Syaoran was impatient. He was just a little jittery and couldn't help but to keep some body parts moving.

The front door opened and Sakura came into view, looking more stunning than she had on the night of the Spring Formal Warm-Up. Her dress colour was of a watermelon green that reached her ankles. The part of her dress covering her chest was shaped into a tiny V and were attached to silver rings that rested upon her shoulders, creating the same V on her back. It was the most skin he'd ever seen her show besides the time they went swimming.

"Syaoran!" She greeted happily, sizing him up from head to toe. "Wow, you look so handsome!"

"Yeah..." he mumbled, "These...these...these are for you," he blurted, thrusting a bouqet of cherry blossoms into her face. She drew her head back a little to keep herself from getting smothered by the petals. She smiled gratefully and took in a satisfying whiff. "They're so pretty, Syaoran, thank you so much." She took them from him and said, "Wait a second, will you, so I can put these in a pot?"

Without waiting for a reply she headed off towards her kitchen to put the bouqet in some fresh water. He sighed angrily. Not that he was mad at her. He was mad at himself. How could he tell her he loved her and that he was on a mission to steal magical cards from her if he could barely even speak in her presence? The night's mission seemed harder to accomplish than the one he was given by the elders!

"Are you ready?" She asked, suddenly back at his side putting on a black jacket that complimented her dress nicely.

He nodded, taking her by the elbow and leading her towards the limosine. He held the door open for her and waited until she was inside before sliding in next to her. She said a cheerful hello to Wei who greeted her with a polite smile and another hello in reply. The key was placed in the ignition once more and before they knew it, Wei was already finding a place to park the limo and drop the couple off.

"Just call me on my cell phone when you'd like to be picked up, Syaoran-sama." Wei said, as Syaoran and Sakura began making their way out of the limo.

"Thank you, Wei-san." Sakura thanked.

"Yeah, thanks, Wei." Syaoran chimed, following out after Sakura. "Wish me luck," he muttered beneath his breath, not knowing Wei had heard. Luck? Wei thought. Luck for what?

Then it hit him. Syaoran wasn't just using the Spring Formal as means of getting closer to the mistress of the cards, he was using it to finally challenge her! Of course, that's what he needed luck fof. Why else would he say that?

The moment Wei had made this assumption, the car door slammed and his cell phone began ringing. "Hello?" He asked. A reply was made on the other end. "Oh, everything is in place. If I am not correct, Syaoran-sama is challenging the mistress for it tonight." Another reply. "I'm almost positive of it. Alright. Alright. Goodnight."

He truly was almost positive of it...there was this feeling inside his stomach that told him something big was going to happen. He just didn't know what.

_**xxxxxx**_

Syaoran and Sakura entered the hosting room of the Spring Formal together, Sakura's hands firmly at her sides, Syaoran's deep within the depths of his pockets. When he was not admiring how beautiful Sakura looked, his eyes were glued to the ground, going over a hundred different kinds of ways to tell Sakura he loved her.

Soon, Sakura had spotted their friends. "Look!" She exclaimed, pointing to a group of couples standing on the dance floor, "It's Tomoyo-chan and everybody!" Immediately, she took Syaoran's hand in her own and rushed towards their friends. They said their hellos and gave compliments to one another's evening gowns or suits.

"You look beautiful," Sakura told Tomoyo who had donned a shimmering violet strapless dress that fell to her ankles. Eriol in his navy blue suit stood beside her, his arm kept tightly around her waist.

"Shouldn't we start dancing?" Chiharu asked their group of friends, inching further towards the dance floor to get her groove on with Yamazaki. He stood like a rock at her side, not exactly being the greatest dancer in the world.

"Uh," he said lamely, dragging her towards the refreshment table, "let's eat something first. We just got here...don't want to start dancing just yet!"

Eriol looked at Tomoyo, wondering what she wanted to do. "He's right," she shrugged, heading over towards the table. Eriol sighed, wanting very badly to dance with his new girlfriend. Nevertheless, he agreed reluctantly and took her by the hand. It seemed he never wanted to let go of her that night.

"Let's go," Sakura insisted, following the rest of them. She took Syaoran's arm in hers so that they were linked together in an old-fashioned kind of manner. Syaoran had to keep from smiling. He certainly didn't mind.

The table was topped with dozens and dozens of brightly coloured paper cups and two incredibly large bowls of punch. Some finger foods were off to the side of the table, some of which were brought in by parents or students themselves. You would think, that because the formal wasn't even catered, that it was incredibly cheap.

But it was not. The student body had already spent so much money on everything else that they had no money left to spend on food. The DJ alone was extremely expensive. And considering the decorations that were displayed so beautifully around the room, that couldn't have been too cheap, either.

"It's amazing," Sakura smiled, marveling at the general splendor of the room.

"Yeah..." Chiharu added, staring around the room with wide-eyes. Disco lights of every colour flashed on and off, sometimes making them feel a little dizzy. But it only made their urge to dance grow.

"Guys!" Chiharu nearly shrieked, "Can we please dance _now?_"

Tomoyo laughed and pulled Eriol along. "I guess she can't wait any longer, you guys."

Eriol did an air-high five with Yamazaki and practically sprinted towards the middle of the dance floor, poor Tomoyo trying to keep up with him. They soon began dancing along with everyone else and were later joined by Chiharu and Yamazaki, who were half arguing and dancing at the same time.

"Shall we?" Syaoran asked cutely. Sakura couldn't help but giggle.

"I'd love too," she told him, allowing him to take her by the hand and take her towards the floor.

_**xxxxxx**_

By the way it looked, Sakura seemed to be thoroughly enjoying herself. She was smiling to the extreme, laughing every five seconds. A few hours had passed since she and Syaoran and the rest of the gang arrived at the formal. She had no idea she would have that much fun. Among other things she had no idea - Syaoran was an incredible dancer.

Syaoran himself was even surprised. That was his first highschool dance ever, and yet, he got along dancing pretty damn well. He could tell by the way Sakura just couldn't seem to stop smiling. He figured, since they'd spent almost the entire night on the dance floor, that it had something to do with his dance moves.

They walked off to get some drinks, both of them rather sweaty. As Syaoran left Sakura waiting at a table to get the drinks, he thought to himself that this, indeed, was going to be a fantastic night. He was having one of the greatest times of his life. Nothing could go wrong. His confession would go smoothly, and if he assumed correctly - that Sakura indeed loved him back - then he would be unforgettable.

Suddenly, a slow song blared out from the speakers. He stopped getting the drinks and dropped them on the table. He returned to his emerald beauty and, ever so slyly asked, "Would you like to dance?" Even though they'd been doing exactly that for quite some time by then.

Sakura cocked her head to the side cutely and repsonded by giving him her hand. He swept her off to the dance floor once more and positioned himseld carefully. He placed one hand on the small of her back and held her other hand tightly. The only free hand that Sakura had lay on top of Syaoran's solid chest. Soon, they began to sway to the music.

The music seemed to do something to them - for a long while, they did nothing but stare into each other's eyes. And then, they heard a giggle from beside them. Reluctantly, Sakura turned her head to the side and saw her best friend and Eriol dancing a few feet away from them, goggling at them like goldfish.

Sakura stifled a giggle and placed her head on Syaoran's chest. She sighed deeply.

The moment was perfect. It was time.

"Sakura," Syaoran said. Nothing else. Just her name.

"Mmm?" She replied.

"Sakura," he said again, bringing her closer to him. Soon there was no space between their bodies. "I...I have to, well, do something..." he stuttered lamely, staring down at her beautiful auburn head. "You might be a little surprised, but..."

_Riiiiiing. Riiiiiing. Riiiiiing._

Syaoran's jaw nearly fell to the floor. The cellphone in his pocket vibrated restlessly and continued to ring. The frustration that built up in his head was almost enough to make him explode. And yet, Sakura laughed.

"You should get that," she said sarcastically.

Syaoran tried his best to smile at her. Her brows furrowed together.

"Is something wrong?" She asked rather worriedly.

Syaoran tried to speak, but couldn't. He opened his mouth, and still no words came out. Sakura's worry grew. Instead, he shook his head and help up his index finger, silently asking her to wait just a moment while he took the call.

"_Yes?_" He asked irritatedly.

"Syaoran-sama," the voice said.

"Wei, whatever it is, can't it - "

"The elders would like to see you."

His breathing stopped. Ever so slowly, he turned around to see if Sakura was listening. She was waiting patiently, hands behind her back, for him to finish the phone call. He turned back around. "_What_." He hissed flatly, "They are _here_." It was supposed to be a question but it came out hard and gruff, more like an insult than a question.

"Yes, Syaoran-sama. They have been for the past week."

He waited.

"Syaoran-sama..." Wei continued when Syaoran made no response. "They want to see you."

This time his heart stopped. "They would."

"Yes, Syaoran-sama. They want to see you right now."

"And you're outside, Wei?"

"Yes, Syaoran-sama."

He cringed and snapped the phone shut. Fuck, fuck, _fuck!_

"Sakura..." he said, returning to her and holding her hand once more. "I am so sorry, I'm so, _so_ sorry...I have to go."

Instead of looking upset, she looked confused and even more worried. "What?" She asked, "Why?"

He sighed. "I have some things to take care of." He kissed her hand and was about to take off when she held him back, turning him around for him to stare into her big green eyes.

"Take me with you," she said. It did not seem like a request.

"Sakura, I - "

"Take me with you." She said again, this time her voice hard and serious.

He paused for a moment or two before finally agreeing to let her come along. "Fine," he agreed, caving in like he had no backbone. "But," he added sternly, as they made their way out, "you are to stay in the limo. Alright, Sakura?"

Sakura came to a halt just as they were approaching the exit. "Why?"

"Please, Sakura," he very nearly pleaded, "promise me you will stay in the limo."

By this time, Sakura was extremely worried and scared. Syaoran was in trouble, she just knew it. So she had no other choice but to lie to his face. "Sure." She told him, nodding once and continuing to walk towards the exit.

They left from the Spring Formal and went straight to the limosine which was conveniently parked just a few feet away. They jogged up to it and entered. No one spoke a single word. Not even Wei bothered to make any small talk. The tension in the air was way too thick.

Soon they were moving. And soon Syaoran would have to face up to all his lies.

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**I know. You all hate me. I hope you like this chapter, anyway. I **_promise_** that things in the next chapter will be extra juicy.**

**If you still love me, please review.**

Signing Off,  
Agent08 - _My life as a secret agent _xD


	19. The One You Waited For

**Agent08 Reporting for Duty!**

Now on with chapter nineteen!

**Saving Syaoran**

_The One You Waited For_

Syaoran waited in agony for the moment he would arrive at the elders' Japan headquarters. Sakura remained at his side, her eyes shifting uncomfortably from side to side.

The limosine decreased in speed just as a building that could only be described as a miniature White House came into view. Tall silver gates opened to allow the limo to enter. It then circled around a large, circle shaped fountain that spurted sparkling beads of water. Their beautiful surroundings could not even lift the tension.

When finally it came to a stop, Syaoran turned to Sakura with the movement of an eighty year old man. He took her hand in his and repeated what he told her just moments before. "You are to stay in the limo."

They stared at each other for a moment or two and he reluctantly ripped his gaze away from her eyes and removed his hand from hers. "This should only take a few minutes," Syaoran told Wei, though he had no idea of knowing that, but he prayed so with all his heart and soul. His faithful butler nodded once in reply.

Sakura watched as he got out and slammed the door behind him. He began to climb the many steps that lead toward the entrance of the incredibly elegant building.

"Wei-san...is Syaoran-kun alright?" She asked him worriedly, as she kept her eyes glued to Syaoran who was still walking, ever so slowly, towards the entrance. "Maybe I should follow him..." she muttered quietly moving to get out of the car.

"Kinomoto-san, wait," Wei said almost sounding urgent. She obviously didn't know about Syaoran's plan to ambush her later. "Perhaps that isn't such a good idea..."

Her lips pulled down into an upset and confused frown. Why not? "Wei-san...please? I need to make sure that he is alright."

"He is fine. Just wait here."

Sakura was not convinced. "Wei-san," she practically begged. Syaoran almost reached the doors. "Please, just let me follow him inside. Once I know he's fine, I'll come back."

Sakura could see the hesitation in his eyes. But she knew it. She'd won him over.

_I hope this is the right thing to do._ Wei thought helplessly.

"Alright then Kinomoto-san..."

She thanked him silently by nodding her head and flashing a shaky smile. She was growing nervous for some reason...there was no reason to be feeling this way! She was sure everything was alright. Just a slight problem that just had to occur on one of the greatest nights of her life. Everything was alright...

She followed closely behind Syaoran. Something inside her told her not to make her presence known. Just not yet.

_**xxxxxx**_

Syaoran entered the building solemnly, Sakura behind him, though without his knowing. He guessed that he would have to break it to the elders first that he would not be challenging Sakura at all. They would be pissed, without a doubt. But that was just something he'd have to take care of later on. At the current moment, the most important thing to him was telling Sakura how he felt.

While Sakura took her place in the shadows hiding behind a tall pillar, Syaoran took his place in the middle of the dark room in the spotlight.

The elder that sat in the middle of a wide table grumbled his name. "Xiao-Lang." He entwined his bony fingers. There they were - all twelve elders, sitting scarily behind the marble table with their black robes and all. They seemed happy, which was a first. "Wei has told us about your plan tonight. If we are correct, the Card Mistress is with you right now?"

Sakura's hand instantly flew to her mouth. She had to keep herself quiet. How had Syaoran known about her being the Card Mistress?

"That is correct. But - "

"Very good," he interrupted, "then that must mean you have almost completed your mission?"

"Um..." Syaoran mumbled, not knowing where to start. "About that - "

"Wei updated us frequently with your progress. We've been here, for the past seven days, did you know?"

"Wei told me." He answered.

"Wei also told us that you had already made friends with the Card Mistress rather quickly. That you found out her identity in just a short amount of days and that you were with her almost everyday. We had no idea that you had taken our mission for you so seriously."

Sakura's mind went numb. _Mission...?_

"Please, I - " Syaoran began but was not permitted to continue.

"We trust that you have also attained what her weaknesses are, as well? If you have, then the ambush tonight with the challenge will go perfectly well. We are trusting you, Xiao-Lang."

"Sir, please, listen to what I - "

"Do not get cold feet, Xiao-Lang! We have been counting on you! We realize that we had told you that you may take your time with this mission but we would like those magical cards in our possession as soon as possible now. So you must follow through with your plans to challenge her for their ownership. Tonight!"

"Holy sh - " he nearly cursed in frustration.

Against her own will, Sakura gasped as the tears gathered by the gallon in her emerald eyes. Her chin wobbled with unease and her facial expression clearly shouted the word, _hurt._ _Do not cry!_ she told herself repeatedly. _Don't you dare cry._ But nothing seemed to be going her way that night.

All elders lifted their faces, though they were still kept in the shadow of their hoods. "_Who is there?_" The elder asked sharply glaring pointedly at the dark corners of the room. "_Reaveal yourself!_"

Mouth still covered by her hand, Sakura stepped out from her hiding place.

No words could describe the shock, guilt, or embarrassment Syaoran felt at that exact instant that he saw Sakura. From where he stood he could clearly see the tears falling from her eyes, rolling down her cheeks, seeping through the fingers that were held so tightly above her mouth. The cuss words were just threatening to spill from his mouth.

Instead, he said, "Sakura, please, let me - "

"I can't believe you..." she seethed, removing her hand from her trembling pink lips. "All this time...you knew...and you were going to challenge me for my cards! _My_ cards!"

"One moment," the elder cut in rudely, "this is the Card Mistress, Xiao-Lang?"

He gave the elder an annoyed glance. "Yes, it is, but - "

"Then you must challenge her now, Xiao-Lang! Do not waste another moment!"

"But I - "

"I can't fight you..." Sakura whispered. "Syaoran-kun...I can't. I can't do it."

Syaoran looked at her, perplexed. "You...won't? Really?"

"I care for you, Syaoran. You're one of my best friends. Of course I could never fight you!" She paused. In this slight moment of silence, the elders let out a few gasps of their own. "You...you care for me too, Syaoran-kun, right? Right? You wouldn't want to fight me either...right?"

She had no idea how right she was. He wanted so badly to tell her that he would never fight her for something she cared so deeply for - never in his lifetime!

"Of course he would fight you, you insolent little girl!"

"Hey!" Syaoran cut in angrily. He would not allow them to speak to her like that! "Don't - "

"Do not interrupt, Xiao-Lang!" They scolded, then turned back to Sakura, "You obviously fell for his pretense, Card Mistress. You must learn not to be so gullible and naive!" He insulted.

Syaoran's mind was a complete mess. How on earth was he going to get Sakura to listen to his explanation?

"Sakura...please, don't...I didn't...you have to...never wanted to..." the words tumbled clumsily out of his mouth into a bunch of sentences that did not make sense. Sakura gaped as he fell silent. He didn't know what else he could do anymore. He had tried so hard to make her understand...but it looked like he'd only made things worse.

"I can't believe you..." she said again, the anger clearly heard in her sharp voice, "I cared for you, Li! I cared for you so much! And I thought...I thought...I thought that maybe you..."

And then something dawned upon the elders. At that moment, hearing the pain and hurt in Sakura's voice, the way she said his name, they realized something they'd never thought Syaoran was capable of. "Xiao-Lang..." the elder began once more, "you have done what we never thought you would do..." his voice was proud and astonished. Syaoran did not understand what he had meant. "Her weakness, Xiao-Lang...her weakness is _you!_"

Syaoran let out a cry of anger. He didn't need to hear that from them! If Sakura loved him, he wanted to hear it from her, coming from her angelic voice. _Not_ them.

"Enough!" He screamed, pulling off his tuxedo jacket. "I don't need to do this anymore!"

"Correct, Xiao-Lang!"

He stared. "What?"

"Enough chit-chat! Challenge her! Challenge her now!"

"But I..." he started breathlessly, "for fuck's sake_, will somebody please listen to me!_"

"No," Sakura answered, a look of utmost anger and pain across her face, "I will not listen to you anymore, Syaoran Li! I am through believing you. Those men are right. You want my cards? Finish what you came here to do and challenge me!" She demanded.

"Sakura - "

"Stop!" She cried, wiping her tears away. "Stop calling me that! Stop acting and just finish this!"

"But I - "

"_No!_" She objected. She paused to take a few deep breaths. "If you won't challenge me...then fine." Removing from her neck a neckalace he never saw her wear she placed it in the middle of her palm. "Key concealing the power of the stars..." she chanted, "reveal thy true form before me! By our contract, I, Sakura, command you! _Release!_"

Sakura's magical star circle appeared from beneath her as a strong wind began to blow around the room. As soon as the wind had decreased and the magic circle had vanished, in her shaking hands was a tall pink staff.

"Sakura, there is no need for - "

"Yes there is!" She insisted, "Syaoran Li, I challenge you for the ownership of the Sakura Cards."

The elders clapped amusedly. "She has initiated it, Xiao-Lang. You must accept!"

Syaoran threw his fists angrily into the air. "Damnit! I don't want to accept!"

"Accept my challenge!" She practically demanded. Plucking a card from out of no where, she threw it up into the air where it stayed, waiting to be put into effect. "Sword!" She called out loudly. A gold vine wrapped itself around the staff and in just an instant, it was transformed into a sword.

Angrily, she took a swing at him, letting out an angry war cry.

Syaoran ducked out of the way just in time, his hand reflexively reaching into his pocket for his own magical item that he would transform into a sword. But he couldn't. He didn't have the heart to fight the girl he loved, even if she was more than willing to fight him.

"Sakura, stop!" He cried, ducking and dodging each and every plunge she made with the sword. Eventually, after a few long moments of her fruitless jabbing, she dropped the sword and began using her fists and legs. "Stop!" He screamed yet again, yet she did not heed. She continued, all the while calling him things that he had never thought to ever come from her mouth.

"What are you waiting for, Xiao-Lang!" The elders screamed over their heavy breathing and shouting, "Fight back!"

He sidestepped a swift leg to his stomach. "No!" He said, turning to glare at the twelve men sitting behind the marble table. "I will not - ah!"

With his attention taken away from her constant attacks, it was easy for Sakura to get him on his back with one swipe of her leg. She picked her sword up from the ground and held it above his chest, the very tip of it only nearly touching the fabric of his now dirty suit. Then, to Syaoran's disadvantage, she brought her foot into the air and placed it on top of his neck and pressed down. Not so much that he would suffocate - she wasn't that cruel. But enough to make him feel very uncomfy.

"Now what are you going to do?" She asked, her voice shaky and just barely above a whisper. When he gave no answer she pressed her foot harder onto his neck. Anymore and she would truly begin to suffocate him. "Huh?" She taunted, trying hard to smirk. It was difficult to do so when her chin was wobbling so badly.

He looked up at her, confident yet sad. "Nothing." He replied hoarsely. After all, a foot _was_ kind of blocking his air passage.

"No!" Sakura shrieked, her chin now shaking over the rictor scale and tears dribbling down the side of her pained face. "You came here on a mission, didn't you?" Instead of pressing harder down onto his neck she inched the sword closer to his body. "Didn't you?" She cried again, "Well then finish it, damnit!"

He stared up into her watery emerald green eyes. He looked at her with a hard, blazing stare which seemed to see right through to her very soul. But he didn't need to stare at her in such a way to notice the pain he'd caused. Her eyes were watery because of _him_. Her face was crumpled because of _him_. All of this was his fault.

"No."

He noticed her grip on the sword tighten, as if she was about to plunge it deep within him. He didn't even flinch. But _she_ certainly did. The weight on his neck was suddenly lifted and he was granted the ability of properly breathing again. The sword clattered noisily to the floor as he sat up to see Sakura, lying in a heap on the floor, wailing like there was no tomorrow.

"Sakura." He whispered, inching towards her on all fours. The elders watched in silence as the scene before them began to unfold. "Forgive me. I'm so sorry. If I could take all of this back, Sakura, believe me, I would. I - "

"But you can't!" She sobbed, lifting her face from her hands to stare deep into his also pained eyes. "You can't take all of this back!" She stopped to let out a few more loud, anguished cries of despair. "You came here on a mission, remember? You were sent here to - "

"To identify the master of the cards and challenge you for them, I know." he interrupted, crawling even closer towards her. "And do you want to know why I didn't realize you were their mistress until I practically blew chunks in meditation? You want to know why I haven't challenged you until the elders forced me to?" She made no reply. "_Do_ you, Sakura?"

More tears escaped her eyes but not a single sound left from her lips. "Because..." he stuttered, not knowing how to tell her, his ability of speech for the second time that night having been taken away from him. But it seemed that the moment he looked into her eyes, she somehow gave him the strength.

"Because," he began again, now confident and determined to tell her how he felt, "every single second I've been living here in Tomoeda, I've been too busy falling in love with you."

Sakura stared at him, wide-eyed, mouth open, and tears no longer falling from her eyes. And would you believe, of all the people to gasp, it had to be the people still sitting before them, behind the marble table and now shaking with rage. If anyone had the right to be angry it was Sakura and Syaoran. Sakura for obvious reasons, Syaoran because he had to confess his love for her in front of twelve old, grouchy geezers.

"You can't _possibly!_" The elder in the middle cried, standing up in objection.

Glaring up at all twelve elders, he stood and walked towards them, leaving Sakura on the floor. "Yes, it _is_ possible!" He said loudly, his voice echoing throughout the entire room. "How can I _not _love her?" No one uttered a single word in response. "She's the best thing that's ever happened to me. And _you_ - you think I'm going to give her up just for the ownership of some magic cards that I didn't even want to own to _begin with?_"

"How _dare_ you!" One elder cried, obviously offended, "You will _not_ speak to us like that, Xiao-Lang Li!"

"Like hell I won't!" He replied angrily taking yet another dangerous step towards the marble table. "There isn't a single person out there that is better fit for the position as master of the cards than this girl right here," he turned to point a finger at Sakura's still crumpled body. "She loves those cards in a way I never could. And what more, I love _her _in a way I know no one else ever could! So with all do respect, elders - fuck _off_. You are _not_ going to screw up my chances with the most amazing girl in the entire universe just for the cards she's already the master of! Not on my watch! HELL _NO_."

Turning on his heel, he walked over towards Sakura and helped her up. He could tell just by looking at her that her knees were about as stable as silly puddy. "Let's get out of here," he grumbled, squeezing her hand tightly and making their way towards the door. Sakura followed without hesitation, still at a loss for words.

"Do _not_ walk out on us, Xiao-Lang Li! You will live to regret it!" The elders screamed from behind them. Syaoran didn't stop walking. Neither did Sakura. Until the elder said, in a tone so malicious that it made Sakura want to pee her pants, "Do you realize who you will be disappointing? Do you realize what you are giving up? Have you forgotten about the empire that has been supporting you since day _one?_"

His fingers sliding out of Sakura's, his entire body went rigid. Slowly, he turned back around and stared at each and every elder, every last one of them smiling evilly down at him. After long hesitation, Syaoran finally spoke.

"Yeah," he said quietly his eyes glued to the floor, "I realize who I'm disappointing." The face of his mother and father instantly appeared clearly in his mind. And he remembered the conversation he'd had with his mother just the night before. And he knew what to say.

"I know how disappointed they'd be in me..." he said, lifting his head slowly to look at them once more, "if they knew that I walked away from the chance to love."

All the elders looked taken aback by his reply.

"And yeah," he continued, in a voice less softer than what he'd used just seconds before, "I realize what I'm giving up. The chance to be the leader of a clan that doesn't even consider my own feelings. And _yeah_, I'm trying really hard right now to forget about the empire that has apparently been 'supporting' me since day one! If you can even call what I was given 'support'. I think the right words would be...oh, I know. Torture and sadness. Yeah, that's perfect."

"Xiao-Lang Li, if you walk out those doors - "

Syaoran smirked. Nope. It was his turn to do all the interrupting.

"As for who will be replacing me as the leader, pick one of my sisters." He shrugged carelessly. "Being the long time leaders of the clan and the ones who made all the rules, of course you guys know that you made it the _ultimate_ rule to keep the title as leader kept within the family." His smirk grew wider. "Oh, yeah! It was _also_ you guys that made it the _second_ ultimate rule that it always be the first born _male_ to receive the title."

The ash fallen faces of the bastard old men made him want to laugh. Which he did.

"Looks like you guys have _quite_ the decision to make." He taunted.

For the final time, he spun quickly on his heel, and took Sakura's hand in his. They walked briskly out into the fine spring night, the stars suddenly seeming brighter than they had been last.

_**xxxxxx**_

He could still hear the elders shouting in protest to his actions when they walked out the doors. It wasn't until that the doors shut that they were finally silenced. But just because he couldn't hear them anymore, didn't mean that they had stopped. They were probably still going on and on, even though he'd already stopped caring about what they had to say.

Instantly Syaoran made eye contact with Wei, who was staring at him questioningly through the windows of the limo. Instead of walking towards it where he sat in the driver's seat, waiting, Syaoran held up his index finger, made a circling motion with it, and Wei understood. He turned the keys of the limo and exited the gates, suddenly deciding to circle the neighbourhood for a few minutes.

"Where did Wei go?" Sakura asked.

"He's just giving us some time alone." Syaoran answered, thankful that he obliged.

Suddenly, Sakura ripped her hand out from Syaoran's own and glared at him with full force. "Well, I don't want to be alone with you, Syaoran Li." She bit out. She began descending the marble steps, Syaoran following closely behind her.

"Sakura, wait a second, will you?"

"Why should I?" She spat, turning around to continue glaring at him. "You lied to me to get close to me and steal my cards!"

"You don't honestly still believe that, after what I told you in there, do you?"

She was silent for a while. "Maybe I do."

Syaoran threw his hands up in the air, exasperated and completely out of patience. She didn't _believe_ him? After everything he'd just done for her in there with the elders, she couldn't believe that he was in love with her? She had to be kidding him!

"You've _got_ to be kidding me," he said, almost hysterically.

She folded her arms across her chest defensively. "Can you blame me?"

She got him there. "Well, no..."

"Exactly," she snapped, turning around once more and continuing her way down the steps. He continued to trail along behind her.

"Could you give me a chance to explain?" He tried to ask calmly.

She continued walking.

"Sakura," he said, stopping in his tracks, hoping his voice sounded serious. "Sakura!" He called out again, this time a lot more louder and stern. He was glad to see that his somewhat frustrated voice was enough to get her to stop walking away from him. She turned around again, a look of indifference on her face. Well, at least she wasn't crying.

Syaoran walked towards her slowly. "Thank you." He said.

She sighed and suddenly, the saddest, most heart wrenching stare fell across her eyes. She looked at him so intensely. He had no idea what to say. "Li," she said simply, "tell me the truth."

He waited for her to go on. But she raised her eyebrows at him, urging him to speak.

"Um..." he hesitated, "tell you the truth about what?"

She sighed, annoyed. "Just tell me the_ truth_."

"About _what?_"

She stared at him for a long time and finally, he understood. She didn't want the truth, she wanted _a_ truth. And there was a big difference between the two.

"The truth, huh?" He said, thinking for a bit. He glanced down at the ground, taking a few more steps closer towards her. She didn't seem to notice. "The truth is...I really and truly am, very sorry for the pain I've caused you. I've been a coward and a jerk and an absolute moron these past few months."

"What other truth can you tell me..." she said breathlessly, as she took a few of her own steps towards him.

"I never wanted your cards, and I never, ever will," he told her, staring confidently into her emerald green eyes to prove to her that he meant each and every single word, "I decided a long, long time ago that I would never challenge you for them, no matter how many people I disappointed. Because you're the only person that I don't want disappointed in me."

Suddenly, their faces were only inches apart. Neither of them knew how it happened, and they didn't care.

"And...?" She whispered.

"And..." he said hoarsely, fingering the tie around his neck. Was it just him, or did it just get extremely hard to breathe? He swallowed with much difficulty and said, with all the courage he could muster, "And I am very much in love with you, Sakura Kinomoto."

The most beautiful shade of red stained her cheeks lightly. "You want to know a few truths on my part, Syaoran?"

Syaoran...did she just call him by his first name? Oh, thank God, she'd called him by his first name! That had to mean _something_, right? Perhaps she wasn't so mad at him afterall, but he could only ho -

"I think I'm in love with you, too."

He gaped at her with wide, gold-fish eyes. "...No lie?" He stuttered lamely.

Sakura laughed at him in a teasing manner and pulled him to her, hugging him tightly. He returned the hug and kissed the top of her beautiful auburn head. "I'm so sorry, Sakura, I'm so sorry. I will never lie to you again, never ever..." he whispered, swinging her back and forth.

"I know," she said simply. "I know."

"Thank you for believing me." He said after a while.

Sakura giggled. "It's the least I can do, Syaoran-kun. You've only saved my life about a dozen times..."

Reluctantly, he pulled her away from him and examined her perfect green eyes, wondering if she had meant what she said. After a full analysis, he realized that she in fact, did believe, that she'd done nothing for him.

"Sakura..." he said disbelievingly, "how could you say that?"

She stared at him, confused. "I have never saved your life, Syaoran."

He began to chuckle loudly, as if that was the funniest thing he'd ever heard in his entire life. "You can't possibly mean that," he told her. But she did. So he said, "Sakura Kinomoto, before you, I was a complete and utter jackass. I was a jerk. I couldn't do anything without being mean." She stared at him with strange eyes that clearly wondered why he was insulting himself. "I had no friends and I wasn't willing to make any. And when I _was_ willing, I was too scared to try."

"Yeah, so?"

He pulled her towards him again and inhaled deeply her scent of cherry blossoms. "You changed all that, Sakura. You saved my life."

Sakura paused for a minute or two, trying to let the words he'd just said sink into her mind. "I saved Syaoran Li's life," she stated, trying it on for size. She giggled. "I like the sound of that."

He lifted her chin and lowered his head. Ever so slowly, he placed his lips on top of her own.

And just standing there, kissing the girl of his dreams, he'd never felt more complete or free. It was as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders and he was floating. And all because he had told the truth.

He should do that more often.

-

-

-

-

Wawawee! I know, I ROCK. Mwahaha. So yeah, there's only one chapter left. And it should explain most everything. It may be a little short, but I know for sure that it will also be a very original chapter, trust me. ;)

Thanks for reading and please review:)

Signing Off,  
Agent08 - _My life as a secret agent _xD


	20. The Q&A

Agent08 Reporting for Duty!

Now on with the final chapter!

**Saving Syaoran**

_The Q&A_

Hello, audience. The Witness here - obviously. I'm here to explain myself and to answer your questions. Because, well, if I'm assuming correctly, you guys are simply dying to know what happened to our favourite couple. You are, aren't you?

This should do it. It's a Q&A session that should answer and explain most everything. I hope I don't disappoint.

* * *

**Q.** What did the elders do after the night Syaoran told them to basically piss off?

_A._ Oh, I'd love to tell you. But you guys don't seriously expect me to just go on and blurt out the answer, do you? Simple replies are only for simple questions! What kind of witness would I be if I didn't reply like this?:

--

"Xiao-Lang, you've disappointed us greatly." The leader of the elders grunted, staring at Syaoran through the darkness of his hood.

It was always the same, every month. It was the same building in China, the same people present, the same spotlight focused on Syaoran, hoping to put some pressure on him to finally give in or make a decision that was in favour of the clan. Nothing ever changed. But maybe, after six months, they would finally clear the air and come to a decision that everybody was okay with. But they could only hope.

"I understand," Syaoran replied, because that's how he always replied every time the elders told him that. He was sure never to apologize, because he had nothing to be sorry for. He and Sakura were still going strong, ever since he told her the truth and stood up to the elders. That was definitely nothing to be sorry about.

There was a short silence. Normally, after Syaoran's reply, one of the elders would babble on about putting the future of the clan at risk and putting his priotirites back in order. And then Syaoran would make some nasty retort, forcing the elders to spit back another scolding, and then everything would go back and forth until Syaoran got fed up and left with all twelve leaders screaming at his back. But things did not go that way this time around.

"We've come to a decision," the elder said sternly.

Syaoran raised a brow. "_You_ have come to a decision?"

The elder rolled his eyes. "We've come to a _suggestion_." He corrected himself, hoping to avoid further arguments and just get on with the meeting.

"Really," he answered shortly, stealing a glance at his mother's face who was standing in the dark confines of the room. He turned back to the leaders. "And what suggestion would that be?"

"We believe it's a suggestion you'll rather like. As bad of people you think us to be, Xiao-Lang, we did consider you in making this decision - " and at the word 'decision', Syaoran gave another lift of his eyebrow, and the elder quickly corrected himself, "I mean, _suggestion_."

"Well?" he replied rather impatiently, "What's your _suggestion_?"

The elders smiled. Literally smiled. It was a more than peculiar thing of the elders to do. And it was even more peculiar of them to say, "Marry the girl."

If Syaoran had been drinking from a glass of water, he would've spit it all up over his shirt and the floor. Had he heard them correctly? _Marry_ Sakura?

I mean, of course he was planning to ask her. One day. But how would marrying her solve anything?

"I - I..." Syaoran mumbled, not exactly sure how to reply. "I mean I... of course I _want_ to marry her, I love her very much... but, sir, I don't understand how that will make any of us happy. I mean, it will make _me_ happy, but how would that...?"

"If you marry her, Xiao-Lang," the elder interrupted, already knowing how to answer his question, "you make her part of our family. As the wife of the clan leader, the ownership of the cards will be within the family, shared between the two of you. And if you have forgotten, Xiao-Lang, that was all we wanted from the start. To have the ownership of the magical Clow Cards.

Syaoran couldn't help but be suspicious. "And... that's all you guys want us to do? You just want me to marry her? And you guys will be happy?"

"Well," the elder shrugged, "I wouldn't necessarily say _happy_. But it's the best solution we've got."

"No strings attached?" he interrogated.

All twelve of the elders rolled their eyes simultaneously. "No strings attached."

"You swear?"

"We swear."

"Upon the family crest?"

"Upon the family crest."

"Pinky promi - "

"Just marry the girl and we'll leave you alone!" the elder snapped.

Syaoran immediately shutup. He thought for a moment, considering how he felt about the proposal, and how Sakura would feel. He looked to his left.

Finally Sakura emerged from the dark corners of the room and came to join her boyfriend in the spotlight. She smiled at him encouragingly and took his hand.

"If I may speak?" she asked politely, acknowleding each elder that sat behind the marble table with a nod of her head.

"You may, Card Mistress," they answered monotonously.

"Well..." she began, "I'm glad that is the suggestion you've given us. But this is not Syaoran's choice alone. This involves me too. And I would love too, but... I don't want to marry him."

Syaoran was taken aback for a moment. His mother caught her breath. All the elders had their jaws nearly touching the floor. All different reactions for all different reasons.

"Right now." She added. "I don't want to marry him _right now._" They all breathed a sigh of relief.

"Geez, Sakura," Syaoran whispered in her ear, "you could've added that sooner."

She ignored this and continued, "When Syaoran and I marry, I want it to be on our own terms, when we feel like we're ready. Not when you want us too, just for the shared ownership of my cards."

"My lady," the leader replied, "this suggestion of ours is already swinging in your favour. Don't be selfish now. We can't let everything go your way, or otherwise this wouldn't even be a compromise."

Sakura bit her lip. "I understand..."

There was a tense silence. And then the elders were on their feet, shoving back their chairs and making a sort of huddle behind the marble table. They spoke quietly among themselves for a few minutes, every once in a while stealing glances at Syaoran, Sakura and Yelan. All twelve seemed to breathe a sigh of defeat at the same time. They returned to their seats.

"We've come to another _suggestion_." the leader announced.

"And?" Sakura asked, suddenly feeling very excited.

"Finish your schooling first, the both of you. And then get married."

The young couple hesitated. They turned their heads to stare at one another. They raised their index fingers in the signal for, "one moment please" and shuffled out of the spotlight until they were in complete darkness. Like the elders, they conversed and expanded on this idea, weighing out the pros and cons. They both thought it kind of strange how they were just planning their marriage out like this in a building in front of twelve grouchy geezers and the groom-to-be's mother in the corner.

After a moment, they returned to the spotlight, hand in hand.

"We can finish college?" Syaoran asked.

"Yes."

"And university?"

"Of course."

"And any other type of schooling we want to take in order to better ourselves or our careers?"

"Absolutely. But you cannot simply take as much schooling as possible in order to stall the marriage."

Syaoran and Sakura shook their heads. "No, absolutely not."

"So then we are in agreement?"

They nodded. "We are."

There was a sigh in the back of the room somewhere, and they all knew that it had been breathed by Syaoran's mother. That decision was six long months in the making.

"Wonderful. Now let's get this in writing before we face more problems."

--

_A_. So basically, it was either they got married, or nothing was solved. It was probably the the best solution anyone could have ever come up with.

**Q.** So, Syaoran is still the future clan leader?

_A._ Nope. He's the actual leader now.

**Q. **Please, pretty please, tell us how he proposed!

_A. _Well, if I must...

--

"Syaoran-kun, are you sure about this..." Sakura asked her long time boyfriend, Syaoran Li, as he drove. It was rather late at night and she had no idea why they were even out so late, but Syaoran seemed rather determined. So determined, in fact, that he seemed to be clutching the steering wheel too tightly. His knuckles almost seemed glow in the dark in the shade of white that they were turning.

"I'm positive, Sakura," he assured her with a smile.

"You're not lying to me, are you?" she asked him.

"Why would I lie?" he asked, acting offended. "Would I lie to you?"

She punched him in the arm. "Well it wouldn't be the first time," she teased.

"Yeah," he muttered, "I set myself up for that one."

They continued their drive down the road. He loosened his grip on the steering while after their short conversation and allowed one of his hands to release the steering wheel in order to hold her own. Sakura smiled at him childishly and suddenly he didn't feel so nervous about what he was about to do.

They arrived at the beach a few moments later. Syaoran parked the car and they both got out, joining hands and heading straight for the sandy shores. The moon was high in the sky, just slightly covered by a few grey clouds. The sound of the tide moving in and out to a silent rhythm known only to them was relaxing as they walked out onto the pier.

Sakura stared out over the black water. "I can't see anything, Syaoran-kun."

"You're not looking in the right place, Sakura."

"Where am I _supposed_ to look?"

Syaoran took her by the shoulders and steered her to the edge of the peer, closer to the front. Sakura got on her knees and bent over to get a closer look into the water. "I really don't think there's buried treasure here, Syaoran-kun."

"But there is, I'm telling you."

Sakura sighed. "I know I told you I wanted a little _adventure,_ Syaoran-kun, but this wasn't exactly my - "

"Look! Over there, I can see it!" he suddenly exclaimed, shaking her arm for her attention and pointing back to where she'd been standing previously.

She suddenly became very excited and made the very poor decision of running. "Wait, Sakura, not so fast!" he warned her, but of course he was too late in doing so.

Sakura, being her clumsy self, tripped over her own feet and fell into the water. Syaoran cussed and immediately followed suit, jumping in after her. After a moment or two they both came up for air, spurting with water and shivering badly. After Syaoran brushed the hair out of his face he turned to see Sakura glaring at him. He suddenly felt very, very stupid.

"You were lying to me again, weren't you?"

"Well, no, but..."

"That _wasn't_ a funny prank, Syaoran-kun! We're both wet now!"

"I know, but - "

"And it's really, really cold!"

"But Sakura, look - "

"At _what?_" she snapped.

He held up an oyster that had been, in truth, in his pocket the entire time. The original plan was to distract Sakura, drop the oyster into the ocean and get her to find it before it sank too far down into the ocean. Luckily he'd managed to re-capture it when he jumped in after her.

"It's an oyster." she said plainly.

"A very pretty oyster."

"Syaoran-kun, what are you going on about?"

"Sakura, it's - "

"Let's get out of this water, _please,_ it's freezing!"

"Sakura, look." he said simply, taking her by the arm and opening the oyster.

Sakura's eyes took the shape of two very round coins and her eyebrows went way, way up at the sight of the beautiful diamond ring within the oyster.

"I thought... I thought..."

"You thought?"

"I thought pearls were in oysters."

"Pearls? In oysters?" Syaoran teased, "That must be another lie Yamazaki told you. No, in oysters, there are engagement rings."

If it was possible, her eyebrows went even higher onto her forehead and her eyes got rounder. "Engagement rings?" she echoed lamely. "But... but I thought - I thought we were waiting until we were finished with school. I thought - "

"To be honest with you, Sakura, I could care less when we get married. I'm ready now, ready whenever you are. And I know what the deal is between the elders and us. But they never said I couldn't propose to you in my own way. Marry me, Sakura?"

Sakura remained speechless for a good two minutes, just staring at the insanely large diamond before her inside of an oyster. Her eyes welled with tears, just thinking about all the trouble that Syaoran went through just to propose to her in a creative way. And she'd been scolding him, too. She suddenly felt very guilty.

"I know what you're thinking, and you shouldn't feel guilty." Syaoran said, reading her mind.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't worry, you can make it up to me." he joked.

"How can I do that?"

"You can say yes. My ego hangs in the balance, Sakura."

Sakura laughed. "I think you already know the answer to that question," she replied.

"It never hurts to hear a 'yes', Sakura."

"Well then, just because I feel so, utterly, horribly guilty," she teased, taking the ring from him and wrapping her arms around his neck, "yes, I will marry you."

--

_A. _I know. How completely _vomitous._

**Q.** Did they have any kids? (Insert fangirl squeal here)

_A._ They sure did. After their first year of marriage, Sakura gave birth to their daughter, Ying Fa, named after the mother. After three years, they had another little baby bundle and this time around it was a boy, whom they named after daddy. Xiao-Ling. Cute, huh?

**Q.** Whatever happened to Tomoyo-chan and Eriol-kun?

_A._ They broke up after almost two years of dating. Tomoyo hit big with her new clothing line in China and Eriol was going to attend med school in America. They decided they'd go their seperate ways. If they were supposed to be together, they'd meet up after a few years and see if anything changed between them.

**Q.** And did they?

_A._ That's a very good question:

--

Tomoyo strolled along the marble floors of the airport, her luggage rolling neatly along behind her. She removed the sunglasses from her face, revealing nervous, amethyst eyes. They focused on a certain auburn haired young lady around the age of 26 with an unusually large and round belly...

"SAKURA-CHAN!!" she screamed, losing all feelings of anxiety and making a bee-line towards her best friend.

"Tomoyo-chan!" Sakura exclaimed in reply, just not as high-pitched or maniacally. She'd always been more reserved than Tomoyo. And plus, Tomoyo's scream had caught the attention of half the people in the airport, Sakura really did not feel like she needed the other half to be staring.

Tomoyo stopped directly in front of her, sure not to crash into her or anything like that. Sakura was carrying some very important things.

"Thank you for coming to our one year anniversary!" Sakura thanked, taking her best friend by the arms and kissing her on the cheek.

"Are you kidding me? I wouldn't miss your first wedding anniversary for the world!" she gave another peck on the cheek. "Nor would I miss this." Tomoyo specified, patting her belly with extreme care.

Sakura smiled. "You'll be a fantastic aunt," she said with all sincerity.

They joined hands and made their way out of the airport. Tomoyo rambled on and on about unimportant things, sometimes touching base on how her family was doing, how cool it was to be her own boss. Mostly she talked about her clothing line. When they reached the limousine that would be taking them back to Sakura's mansion - that's right, _mansion_ - she was still not even half way through.

"Oh, Sakura, you're going to love the outfits I made. I made a maternity wardrobe for you, pre-pregnancy and post-pregnancy. I also made some clothes for the little rascal. Now, as neither of us know the gender yet, I wasn't sure what kind of outfits I should make, but then I decided, oh, what the heck, let's make them gender friendly - "

"Tomoyo-chan," Sakura cut in.

"You'll be seeing lots of pants, lots of overalls, and I know what you're thinking - overalls are not exactly the cutest thing for a little ankle biter to wear, but trust me, these are really _cute_ overalls - "

"Tomoyo-chan..."

"And I was thinking about this 'no cussing around the baby' rule that you made, and I think it's a totally wise decision, but I wonder how Syaoran-kun will keep up with it, he never exactly had the cleanest mouth in the world if you know what I mean, and I don't mean that it wasn't clean in the way that he ever gave oral - "

"Tomoyo-chan!" Sakura screeched, rather horrified.

She swallowed her next word. "Huh?" she asked her, eyes expectant.

"Geez, talk about babbling when your nervous!" She huffed, though rather amused.

Tomoyo sighed. "I'm sorry, Sakura-chan. I'm just... anxious."

Sakura giggled. "I know. But don't take it out on my ears, Tomoyo-chan, please."

She smiled sheepishly. "I'll try not too..." she bit her lip, "He... he hasn't arrived yet, has he?" she asked pathetically.

"Well, there are already a lot of people back at the house, but he isn't there. Not that I know of, anyway. He might've arrived while I left to pick you up."

"Do you think he did?"

Sakura's phone rang. "One moment," she said politely, whipping it out and answering sweetly. "Yes, Syaoran?"

Tomoyo waited patiently for the conversation to end.

"Yes, Tomoyo-chan is with me, I just picked her up about fifteen minutes ago. We're nearly at the house. Oh, really? Oh, well, that's great! Oh no, I won't. Trust me. Bye, see you soon." She hung up.

"Anything new?"

Sakura's eyes twinkled. "Nothing, really." she answered with a shrug.

In just a few more minutes they arrived at Sakura's mansion, which she much rather preferred to call a house. When it was definitely not the simple size of such. Sakura just liked to be modest. In truth, Sakura's home that she shared with Syaoran and soon the baby could rival Tomoyo's. It was large and had many rooms. It was ancient, of course, with stone gargoyles on the roof and steel gates, but Sakura gave it a very home-y feel.

It was early evening and Syaoran and Sakura's first wedding anniversary celebration was already in full swing. Lots of old relatives and friends occupied the mansion, clinking champagne glasses, conversing with one another about how long it'd been, things like that. They planned it so that it would be exactly like their wedding reception exactly one year ago. And for it to be exactly like it was before, they needed the best man and the maid of honour to be present, didn't they?

The two young ladies thanked Wei and left to enter the mansion while he went to park the limo in their insanely large garage. Syaoran emerged from the mansion that was already booming with music and laughter. He greeted Tomoyo with a hug and a peck on the cheek. Chivalrously he took her luggage for her and lead the way into the home he shared with Sakura.

On the way in and on the way to the spare bedroom that she would be staying in during her visit in China, Sakura and Tomoyo were greeted by many old friends. None of whom went by the name of Eriol Hiirigizawa, which Tomoyo was glad of. She wanted to see him, of course, she just wasn't sure if she was ready or not.

After she got settled, Tomoyo climbed down their mountain of stairs to join in on the party. She found Sakura being a very dutiful hostess, making sure to say hello to everyone in the mansion. Obviously, she was very busy. Instead of distracting her from her greetings, she chose to sit and wait a while in the kitchen, where nobody bothered to stay and chat, just because it wasn't as large as the other parts of the mansion and couldn't accomodate a lot of people.

She suddenly didn't feel like drinking alchohol that night. Her stomach was already tight enough. She took a clean glass from a cabinet and opened the refridgerator to trade her wine in for some juice. She was very surprised to see a wide variety of juices and milk ready for selection in the fridge. She thought, it must be in preparation for the baby.

After finally choosing a carton of grape juice and carefully pouring some into her glass, she shut the refridgerator door.

"Hello, Tomoyo."

Tomoyo's heart jumped into her throat. "Ah!" she shrieked childishly. Her glass of grape juice met the floor of the kitchen. It shattered into just about a million pieces, leaving a big spill and some sharp glass on the floor.

"Geez!" she cried, "Could you have done that in a less creepier way?"

"I'm sorry," Eriol chuckled.

"Great," Tomoyo muttered, "I think I stained my new shoes."

Eriol's smile widened. "Of course, always worrying about your fashion before everything else."

Tomoyo didn't seem to sense the humour in his teasing statement. She glared at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing," he said defensively.

"Right," she snapped, "Of course you weren't referring to our break up."

"I wasn't," he said, failing to hold back a smile.

"Right!" she scoffed again her anger fueled by his handsome smile, "You know, I didn't leave you for my fashion!"

"I know you didn't!" he quickly replied, holding up his hands in surrender.

"Then why would you tease me like that!" she blubbered, her eyes watering fast. She always made such a fool of herself in front of him when she was feeling like this.

"So I could muddle you," he replied. He bent down to clean up the glass. Or so she'd thought.

"What?" she asked, terribly confused.

"Well, since I'm already on my knees..." he said mischeviously.

"What?" she asked again, not sure whether she heard him correctly.

She watched him take a tiny, black, velvet box from his pocket. He popped open the top to reveal violet velvet cushioning around a diamond ring.

"Marry me?"

"_What?_"

"Did I stutter, dear?"

"Yes."

"Yes I stuttered?"

"No."

"No you won't marry me?"

"No!"

"Yes you'll marry me?"

"Yes! Now stop confusing me before I change my mind!"

She pulled him to his feet and hopped neatly over the puddle of glass and grape juice. She planted her lips on top of his and they didn't part for a long, long time. Not even when they noticed Syaoran and Sakura spying through the tiny square glass of the kitchen door.

--

_A._ And when they finally did part, a lot of explaining followed from both sides. I could sum it up for you in just a couple of sentences, really, because a lot of what they said was very similar.

_"When we broke up to pursue our dreams, I never really wanted too. I'm sorry I ever left you. I still love you very much. Let's have a really fancy wedding with people dressed in only what I design, okay?"_

Okay, so maybe the last part was only part of Tomoyo's schpeel, but you get the idea.

**Q.** Did they have any kids?

_A._ Twins to be more specific about it. Two (very hyper) little boys.

**Q.** So, everyone basically lived happily ever after?

_A._ Well, they've all got their problems and fight every once in a while...but yeah, I guess everyone did.

**Q.** That's great! There's just one more thing...

_A._ Get on with it.

**Q.** WHO FOR BLOODY HELL'S SAKE ARE YOU!!

_A._ Oh, yeah. Who am I? No one important really...this story was brought to you by me, Meiling Li, as told me by Syaoran and Sakura Li.

**Q**. Meiling Li? It's YOU? Syaoran's cousin?

_A._ Who else? He tells me everything.

**Q.** How could you have witnessed any of this?

_A._ Hellooooo, can't you read? I said, "as told to me by Syaoran and Sakura Li."

**Q.** What's that supposed to mean?

_A._ It _means_ that they told me their story of how they came to be the kawaii couple that they are, and it really and truly felt like I witnessed it. I mean, didn't you guys feel like you witnessed it as well? After I finished telling you the story?

**Q.** You're nasty. At the beginning of your story, you called Syaoran hot!

_A._ What's your point.

**Q.** You're related to him!

_A._ ...What's your point.

**Q.** That's gross!

_A._ Grow up. Didn't you guys know I used to be in love with that guy? Engaged to be married when we were eleven years old and everything?

**Q.** Oh.

_A._ Yes. Now, if that's all the questions you all have to ask me, I'd like to get on my way...

**Q.** Wait! There's one more question!

_A._ What is it?

**Q.** Will Kero-chan ever stop eating so much sweets?

_A._ We will never know, my friends. We'll never know.

-

-

The End

-

-

Apologies for taking so long to update. I added a little Tomoyo/Eriol action in there as an 'I'm sorry' gift.

That's it, folks. This concludes the end of Saving Syaoran. Thank you for reading it and I hoped you enjoyed it. I hope you will tune in for my other stories, as well, should I choose to make more. :)

Thanks again for being great readers and supporters. I appreciate it very much.

Love you all!

Signing Off,  
Agent08 - _My life as a secret agent_ xD


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